Percy Jackson: Alternate Scenes
by Andrew Fisher15
Summary: Some of the scenes from the books weren't what I was hoping for-namely, not as Percabeth as I would have liked. So I decided to do a little rewriting of various scenes, and follow where The Lost Heroes left off. Moderate Percy/Annabeth fluff.
1. The Titans Curse

This is an alternate throne room scene near the end of The Titan's Curse. Why? Because the original one didn't have what I had been hoping for—namely, a little more relationshop development between Percy and Annabeth. So I changed things around, more than slightly.

* * *

_It's hard to fight, when the fight ain't fair…_-"Change"

"—if this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it!" Artemis finished dramatically.

"Calm down, sis." Apollo sighed, removing his earphones and putting them in a pocket. "Sheesh, you need to lighten up. They're great little heroes. No one's going to disintegrate them." Artemis gave him a scowl, like a little girl snapping at her teenage brother.

"Don't call me _sis_!" She ordered, before glancing at us. "Now, regardless of whether my fellow Olympians wish to act like Titans or gods, I shall reward these heroes myself! Or two of them, at least." A sick feeling rose up in my chest, and I could practically hear Thalia…

"_Annabeth wanted to join the hunters, too. Maybe you should think about why." _I would have prayed, but my father was right there, so I just gave him a pleading look. His expression was neutral, but when our eyes met, I somehow felt stronger.

"Thalia, Daughter of Zeus, and Annabeth, Daughter of Athena." Artemis paused elegantly. "Will you join the hunt?" Despite being a goddess, Artemis looked oddly like a teacher trying to get two honor role students to join her club. A dozen different thoughts race through my head, and I literally felt a spike of pain jab at my heart.

"No!" I yelled, half at Artemis and half at Annabeth, grabbing my friend's hand and pulling her back, away from the goddess. The reactions were varied. I saw Apollo grin and give me a thumbs up. Zeus just sighed and rubbed his forehead, as if I was giving him a headache. Hermes looked pleased. My father nodded slightly in approval. Aphrodite was literally crying at the scene. To my surprise, Athena did not seem happy. Thalia looked embarrassed, probably for Annabeth's sake.

Annabeth looked like she was about to double over laughing.

"This is none of your concern, boy." Artemis replied. The irritation in her face made me hesitate, but only for a moment. I was already on Ares's and Zeus's bad sides. What was one more Olympian angry at me? Besides, I felt I was pretty safe from her wrath. Especially with Poseidon, Hermes, Apollo, and Aphrodite watching—they all liked me, to some degree or another.

" 'None of my concern'?" I repeated in disbelief. "I trekked across the country, fought a Nemean lion and dragon's teeth soldiers and dueled a **Titan** to get her back! And now you're trying to recruit her into your band of maiden hunters and _it's none of my concern_?!" Artemis looked shocked at my words, like how you would probably look if a squirrel climbed down out of a tree and started arguing with you—while you're holding a machine gun. The hall literally fell silent, aside from the crackling in the fireplace.

"He's _so cute! _He'd fight Artemis herself before losing his beloved!" Aphrodite sniffled loudly, wiping her eyes. "I wish all your sons were like him, Poseidon."

"Thank you for the offer, Lady Artemis, but I'm afraid I must respectfully decline." Annabeth said politely, grinning. "You see, I, ah, have to stick around and take care of my friends. So they don't get eaten by Canadians, or beat up by the girls in cabin five, (Ares smirked at that) or turned into guinea pigs… you get the idea."

"I accept." Thalia countered, mercifully taking Artemis's attention off me before the goddess could make up her mind and turn me into a rabbit. "I will join the hunt, Lady Artemis."

"Daughter, consider well what you are about to promise." Zeus said, his eyes full of concern.

"I have, father." Thalia said calmly. "I will never be the hunted again. I will never be tempted by Kronos or the Titans. I will not turn sixteen, and the prophecy will not be about me." She repeated the vows after Artemis.

* * *

Olympian celebration parties… they are truly memorable. I started wondering if maybe the party alone was worth going on a quest. I should—

_Zoe… Bianca_. We had lost them both. My steps faltered and I almost tripped as I remembered. In the splendor of Olympus, the finished quest had almost faded from my mind. Nico would be waiting back at camp, but his sister would never return.

The music twisted and became something else, making me wonder—did the Nine Muses let you listen to whatever you wanted to hear, or whatever was closest to how you were feeling?

"_Was it worth the ones we loved, and had to leave behind?_" A woman sang, a note of grief and desperation in her voice. It almost sounded like Zoe.

"You did do well today." A voice behind me stated evenly. I turned to face a beautiful women with storm-gray eyes. Part of my mind wondered if Annabeth would look like her when she grew up.

"Athena." I said, trying to sound respectful. After she had almost _proposed_ that Thalia and I be killed for safety's sake, I didn't feel very respectful at all. "_Lady _Athena." I corrected myself.

She saw through my attempt and smiled nonetheless. "Do not judge me too harshly, half-blood. Wise council is harsh, but I spoke the truth. You are dangerous."

"Ares tried to start a war between Zeus and my father, and yet I didn't hear you proposing that _he_ get sent to the Underworld." I countered, a tinge of anger in my voice. "I have done _nothing_ against Mount Olympus and you were practically telling the others to kill me."

"True." Athena said evenly, as if my point was valid but petty. "But Ares will be watched closely. He will not do such a thing again. Your fatal flaw, though, may yet destroy us all."

Fatal flaws. Every hero has one. In the Sea of Monsters, Annabeth had chosen to hear the song of the Sirens, to find out her flaw. It's _hubris_. Deadly pride. I still didn't know what mine was, and there was no way I was going back to the Sea of Monsters to find out.

"You don't know it?" Athena asked, almost sounding sorry for me, as if she had read my mind. "Think, young hero. How has Kronos attacked you?" A moment passed before I wagered an answer.

"Through my friends?" I guessed. Athena nodded.

"Your mother. Then your best friend, Grover. And finally, my daughter." Athena said, shaking her head. "They were used to bait you into traps. And each time, you eagerly charged forward. You will **never** cut your losses. You are loyal to a fault, and that is your fatal flaw."

"But it—" I stopped myself. Protesting would only reinforce her point._ But I won't fool her by not saying it,_ I realized._ She's right, and she knows what I was about to say. _"But it worked," I continued weakly, barely maintaining eye contact with the goddess. Maybe I was wrong, but hiding it would just look pathetic. "I recovered the helm and got my mother back. We rescued Grover, got the fleece, and brought Thalia back to life. And… I did save Annabeth." I said the last part with a hint of pride.

"Very true. You have met success, so far." Athena said, agreeing with me. She was the goddess of wisdom, after all, and not rash like Ares. She wouldn't be angered easily. "But how long will it be until the strength and courage of you and your friends is not enough? When you finally meet failure, how much will be lost? Your life? Your friends' lives? Mount Olympus?"

"Percy!" Annabeth called, maybe twenty feet to my right. She started making her way through the crowd. She probably couldn't see who I was talking to yet.

"I don't approve of your friendship with my daughter." Athena said, a hint of regret in her voice. "I don't think it is wise. And if you begin to waver in your loyalties…" She gave me a cold stare. It hurt, and made me a little angry at the same time. I know she didn't like my dad, but I had expected her to be a little nice to me, since Annabeth and I were friends.

"Percy!" Annabeth suddenly appeared just a few feet from us, emerging from the crowd. She paused, seeing who was speaking to me. "Oh… Mom. Hi."

"I will leave you, for now." Athena strode off, the crowds parting for her as if she frightened them. Thinking about it, she probably did.

"Was she giving you a hard time?" Annabeth asked, looking closely at my face. Her hand rose to the side of my head and brushed a streak of gray hair, almost identical to hers.

"Wise council is harsh." I said weakly, repeating Athena's words. They had sounded a lot stronger, coming from the goddess. Coming from me, it sounded lame.

"Ah." Annabeth said knowingly. She glanced around, like she was feeling awkward or something. "Grover said you wanted to talk to me." I hadn't told Grover anything, but he must have guessed. Satyrs could read emotions, after all. And I had wanted to talk to her. But after hearing Athena's lecture, I didn't know what to say… so I simply hugged her. She gave a small laugh and returned the embrace.

"I'm glad you're back." I told her quietly. A lump rose in my throat, and I forced it down, trying to keep my voice normal. "I really missed you." The moments dragged on, but Annabeth didn't pull away.

"Thanks for bringing me back, Seaweed Brain." She murmured in my ear. "And, for the record, I missed you too." The music changed again, the grief and desperation leaving it. Annabeth must've been hearing the same song, because she started humming the melody.

"_I keep your photograph, and I know it serves me well. I want to hold you high and steal your pain,"_ A man sang, sounding weary. His voice faded away briefly before returning stronger, now accompanied by a woman's voice. They sang in slow unison, _"Because I'm broken, when I'm lonesome, and I don't feel right, when you're gone away..._"


	2. The Battle of the Labyrinth

Hey, why not—some more altered scenes, twisted to be more Percabethish. My thanks to the three reviewers.

**Camzy**—Yes, I have to agree with you. The first part was mildly struck by the drama llamas, but the second scene did turn out fairly well.

**alyssa21**—The song made that chapter worth reading. I was mulling it over and almost didn't feel like going through with the idea at all, but the song was perfect and made it something I could be mildly proud of. The best part was, I didn't have to alter a single word of the song to make it fit. It's "Broken" by Seether and Amy Lee.

**Omgoth**—You asked for more, (which I love when people do) so here's another chapter, at your request.

This set of altered scenes comes from The Battle of the Labyrinth, beginning while Percy is on Calypso's island. Enjoy! Oh, and please leave a review if you like it.

* * *

"_Look, sometimes bad things happen—"_

_ "Simba!" _

_ "—and there's nothing you can do about it! So why worry?"_

_ "Because it's your responsibility!" _

Simba and Nala, The Lion King

* * *

"You could stay with me, Percy." Calypso said quietly. Her voice trembled slightly, and I thought I saw tears form in her eyes. "I'm sorry. But that is the only way you could help me." I stopped. My mouth opened and snapped shut, no words ready to come out.

I could stay. Stay and be immortal. Hephaestus had allowed me the decision, whether I wanted to go back. If he was fine with it, the other gods would be too. No more dealing with Athena suggesting I be killed, or Ares plotting to have someone do me in. No more 'Great Prophecy' looming over me.

And no fear of death. I would escape Hades **forever.** Never to be in Charon's waiting room, never to be crossing the Styx, never to be heading to those terrible gates. I wouldn't have to worry about getting to Elysium, wouldn't have to be afraod that I might end up spending forever in the depressing Fields of Asphodel. I could stay here, tended to by invisible servants, relaxing on the beach, or helping in Calypso's amazing garden. She would appreciate me. She loved me, for being me. She didn't except me to become a hero or an honor role student or fulfil a prophecy. I glanced at the beautiful goddess, uncertain. She sat quietly, watching, waiting patiently for my decision.

But what about everyone else? Annabeth? Mom? Grover? Tyson? Would they think I was dead? Hephaestus hadn't told anyone whether I was dead or alive. Would my father? Would he tell everyone that I had run away to spend forever on an island paradise? Or would he just let them think I was dead—killed in the volcano's explosion? I imagined Annabeth back at camp, at my funeral. They'd burn a shroud for me, and she'd probably be crying. The Poseidon cabin would be empty again. I wondered who would call my mom, and let her know I was dead. Chiron, probably. Or maybe Annabeth. It had been her quest. She would probably think it was her duty. I looked around the island again. A wave of emotions hit me, and my throat threatened to close up.

"I can't stay." I said, trying to sound decided. I forced myself to look at the goddess. "I'm sorry. This… this, is all I could ever ask for in a home. And if I was to spend eternity with one person, I couldn't hope to find someone more wonderful than you," I tried to explain. A tear rolled down my cheek, and I wiped it away. "But I've got responsibilities. A war is coming. My friends are counting on me to come home. They're counting on me to be there for them, to fight for what's right, to help them survive." If I had been honest, _they _and _them_ wasn't the right word._ She_ and _her_ was. Annabeth…

"You owe me no explanation." Calypso said quietly. "I understand." She hesitated, then gently removed a small plant from her garden before standing. "When you get back to Manhattan…" she forced a small smile, and held the plant out. "Will you plant it? For me?" I accepted it and placed it in my front shirt-pocket, then buttoned it shut securely.

"I'll do that." I promised. It was a tiny favor, but somehow, she seemed a little less sad.

* * *

Hours later, the raft floated ashore the beach of Camp Half-Blood. I stepped ashore, then paused, wondering what would happen to the raft. Maybe I should tie it up… _na._ It was magical, after all. I had been on some island near the west coast of the USA, now I was on the east coast, several hours later. I left it and headed up the beach, wincing as I avoided the rough grasses and rocks along the edge of the sand. I surveyed camp. For better or for worse, I was back and Calypso was alone again.

Empty. Everything I saw was empty, even thought it was only mid-afternoon. I froze, an awful possibility occurring… what if Kronos had attacked? Had everyone fled to Olympus? Or… died?

_Duh, no. The camp would've been torched if Kronos has raided it._ I did see smoke rising up near the amphitheater, though, so I headed over there. Theater, in case you didn't know, was big in Greek culture. They'd carve out almost small stadiums in hillsides, kind of like a half-bowl. There would be stone seats along the side of the bowl (we had wooden ones with cushions) and a speaker at the bottom. Thanks to special designs with the rocks and stuff, thousands of people could hear the people talk.

Camp Half-Blood didn't have thousands of people, though, so our theater was a lot smaller, and looked more like the big assembly room that every school had, with a distinct Greek theme.

I could hear voices as I got closer, but couldn't make it what they were saying. I finally reached the top of the little rise overlooking the amphitheater—

It was filled. Everyone was there. Onstage, the small stone circle had a fire blazing in it. Annabeth stood nearby, holding a green shroud with a glittering trident on it. Her eyes were puffy and red and her hair wasn't in a ponytail, for once.

"Unfortunately, it is unlikely that our prayers will be answered." Chiron said mournfully, standing maybe a dozen feet from Annabeth. "I have asked his best friend to do the final honors." It hit me just what was happening, and I literally stumbled backwards and fell on my butt. A few campers were close enough to hear, but didn't turn.

It was my shroud. They were burning my shroud. I was attending my own funeral—or at least the closest thing the Greeks had to an American funeral. Annabeth placed the shroud over the fire, giving it to the flames. My lingering doubts about whether I had made the right choice evaporated. I had definitely made the right choice.

"Percy…" She stopped for a moment, as if she was about to start crying. Chiron stepped forward as if to say she could go, but she kept on going. "Percy was the bravest, best friend I've ever had. He was always there for me. It didn't matter…" she paused and swallowed, tears streaking down her face.. "It didn't matter to him that our parents aren't friends. It didn't matter if I got angry and snapped at him or called him names. He never let me down, ever." I finally overcame the shock and novelty of attending my own funeral and stood up. Annabeth was still giving my monologue.

"I will truly miss him." Annabeth was finishing, now half-sobbing. "He was a hero—"

"I'm really sorry I'm late." I called loudly to Chiron and Annabeth, making most of the campers turn around. "Who died?" Annabeth froze. The sobbing, grieving look evaporated and became a mix of relief, joy, and anger.

"You did, you **idiot!**" Annabeth nearly shrieked from the front of the amphitheater. "**Where were you!?**" I was about to answer, but fellow campers surrounded me. Beckendorf was grinning. Clarisse rolled her eyes as though I had just pulled a hugely immature prank. The Stoll brothers were patting me on the back, and for once I didn't have any cash for them to steal. Annabeth broke through the crowd and gave me a fierce hug, almost tackling me to the ground. I hugged her back tightly, closing my eyes for a moment as I breathed her scent in. I had definitely made the right choice. A moment passed and Annabeth suddenly released me, looking embarrassed. The campers were chortling.

"We thought you were dead!" She told me. "You were gone two weeks! Where have you been?"

"You mean, after I got** blasted** out of Mt. St. Helena?" I laughed. "Long story. But it's awesome to see you again." Chiron appeared next to her.

"I think we need to discuss this in private quarters." He grabbed us both and tossed us on his back as easily as if we were made of styrofoam. "Everyone else, take the rest of the day off! A hero has returned!"

* * *

"So… I somehow made the volcano erupt." I summarized, a little sheepishly. "It was an accident. But you made it out okay, right?"

"Yeah." Annabeth nodded, taking a sip of hot chocolate. A similar mug sat before me, but I had already drained it. Twice. "Then what happened? You were blasted out?" Chiron was standing at the head of the table, watching me intently.

"Waaaayyy into the sky." I grinned, shaking my head as I remembered it. "I'm surprised Z--, um, Thalia's dad didn't strike me with a lightening bolt." I was going to continue, but a tiny voice warned me. _Say it right or you'll regret it._

"Then what?" Annabeth prodded.

"I woke up on this strange little island." I sighed. "Luckily, someone found me on the beach and patched me up. I had been pretty badly hurt. Couldn't even stand for a few days. Then a magic raft appeared after I was better and carried me here."

"You drifted to Ogygia?" Chiron asked, eyebrows raised. I nodded.

"What?" Annabeth demanded. "You went to Calypso's island?"

"_Went_ means you chose to go there." I shrugged. "I got blasted out of a volcano. I have no clue how I ended up there, and not as a splatter on some parking lot or roof." Annabeth looked ticked.

"I can't believe this." Annabeth muttered, looking _very_ angry. I took her hand and kissed it.

"Hey, I came back." I reminded her. "What are you so upset about?" She gave me _the_ look and ripped her hand away from mine.

"_You…_" She sputtered. "_You are the single most annoying person I have ever met!_" With that, she stormed out of the Big House, slamming the door behind her. I groaned, then looked to Chiron. He smiled.

"Don't worry about it. She'll cool down within a few hours." He assured me. "Go talk to her after supper." I nodded, getting up to leave. My hand was on the doorknob when Chiron added, "Percy?" I turned around. He looked very pleased. "I'm proud of you. Despite all the troubles here, you came back."

"Thank you."

* * *

I hadn't had any luck finding her (you try finding someone who has an invisibility cap, tell me how that works out) even after dinner was over, so I finally gutted it up and knocked on the door of the Athena cabin. One of Annabeth's many brothers answered, smirking when he saw me.

"Hey, is Annabeth here?" I asked, tring to sound normal. He nodded, opening the door wider. I stepped inside, my eyes roaming over the rows of bunks shoved against the wall. Annabeth was on her bunk, studying some books on architecture.

"Your boyfriend's here." Her brother sang loudly. A wave of color appeared on her face, but she didn't look happy to see me.

"What?" She asked flatly. I was taken off guard.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you." I asked, trying to sound normal.

"Well, you didn't give me much of a choice, now did you?" Annabeth observed, raising her eyebrows. I didn't move. She sighed, putting a paper in the book to mark her place. "Fine."

"Thanks." I said gratefully. She got up and followed me outside, her siblings laughing and murmuring behind us. I shut the door firmly, leaving us in the dark outside.

"Well?" She said, looking out at the half-circle of cabins. It might have been my imagination, but she sounded a little less irritated. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I'm sorry I made you mad earlier." I apologized, even though I was pretty sure it had been her fault. "I am really glad to see you again." She turned to look me, a hint of amusement on her face.

"Oh? Glad to see me? And not the camp?" She asked mildly.

"Yeah, you." I smiled. "I mean, the camp is nice too, and all… but I—" I paused, not sure that I of what I was seeing. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No." She was trying not to, at least, and mostly failing. Girls and mood swings. I'll never understand them.

"Well, I probably shouldn't waste anymore of your time." I said formally. She looked disappointed, as if she was expecting something. I opened the cabin door for her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay." Annabeth replied, seeming a little hesitant as she walked back inside, with all of her siblings staring, waiting for something to happen. I started to close the door, then opened it back again, as if I had just remembered something.

"Love ya." I added casually. Her face turned bright red, and her brothers and sisters simultaneous started giggling and going 'aww'.

"You—" Annabeth started to say something, sounding incredulous. I shut the door and ran for the Poseidon cabin, trying not to laugh too loudly.


	3. The Last Olympian

So many reviews, all asking for another chapter. I must oblige. Here's another set of altered scenes, coming from The Last Olympian. I worked hard to make this chapter extra-tender and fluffy. Make sure to leave a review if you like it!

Of course, the review responses, just to show how much I love my readers...

**KatrinaHime-- **Thanks, and here's another chapter.

**potter rocks jackson tooc ullenNOT****-- **It took me a moment to make sense of your screen name, but it is clever. And yes, here's a chapter from the Last Olympian.

**Maddyfae--**I shall do so.

**Nobody--** Seeing your screen name, I was actually going to say something inspirational about life and self-confidence, than I realized you were referring to "Nobody" as in the Golden Fleece and that cyclops... now I feel really stupid, thanks, haha. But I appreciate the review and the confirmation that the humor worked. What would life be without humor? Probably not very funny...

**misswings-- **Thank you. Cuteness is my specialty in short writing. Of course, in person my specialty is looking like an idiot... moving on.

**Tango of the night-- **That's the spice in their relationship.

**percyjackson and grover-- **Thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.

* * *

_I don't want to sleep, _

_I don't want to dream, _

_Because my dreams don't comfort me _

_The way you make me feel! _

—"Comatose"

* * *

"You're cute when you're worried." Annabeth muttered. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched up." She added helpfully. I felt her forehead, and wasn't pleased—I'm not a doctor, but she was still **way** too warm. I briefly considered calling that Apollo camper back and having him sing a few more magic songs.

"Why'd you do that?" I asked quietly, holding her right hand between both of mine. She knew what I was referring too. "You could have dodged him. Let me taken it."

"You would have done the same." She said quietly, her eyes closing for a few moments. "And… I just had this feeling… like I needed to, needed to stop him. Stupid, right?"

"Not really." I countered her. "He was aiming for my Achilles spot… If he had gotten me, I wouldn't have made it."

"Really? Where is it?" Annabeth questioned, looking slightly more alert. I took her hand and guided it down to the small of my back. Her fingers brushed the small patch of mortal skin, and I felt a strange electric jolt run through me. I couldn't help quivering under her touch. It felt… good.

"Right there." I said. Annabeth raised her eyebrows.

"At least you didn't go with your heel." She joked weakly, taking her hand off my back. "What was it like?"

"The Styx?" I verified. She nodded. "It was… agony, at first." I admitted. "I felt like I was dying. I _was_ dying. The ghost of Achilles had warned me that I had to focus on something precious to hold onto, something worth living for. I… I couldn't find anything for a few seconds. It was bad." Talk about understatement of the century. _Bad_? I had been _dissolving_. When I had gotten out, I had been shocked to find all my limbs intact.

"But you did find something to hold onto." Annabeth ventured, managing to sit up a little. "Right?" I squeezed her hand gently.

"Yeah. I… I saw you." I told her quietly. "Some sort of vision… that day I fell out of my canoe, by the pier. You were laughing, and telling me to be more careful." Her eyes went wide, and her mouth was open a tiny bit. I fought the urge to kiss her and managed to continue the story. "You held your hand out… I took it and you pulled me up, back on the pier." I loudly exhaled, snapping my fingers at the same time. "And, that was it. I opened my eyes and suddenly I was back on the shore next to the Styx, mostly invincible."

"Thanks for telling me." She replied softly. "It means a lot." I gathered my fairly shredded and well-worn courage.

"Annabeth…" I was on very uncertain ground. "I don't know what's going to happen, or… or what's between you and Luke. But I want you to know… I do love you." She didn't move, didn't speak for a few moments. Uncertainty flickered across her face, then washed away, replaced by happiness. Her hand gripped mine tighter, and she hugged me around the neck with her other arm.

"I love you too, Seaweed Brain." She whispered, tears running down her cheeks. "I love you too."

* * *

_After the battles… _

"Me? Become a god?" I repeated, not believing what I was hearing.

"Yes, with the approval of the others, I can turn you into a god… though apparently a rather dim-witted one. You will become immortal, serving as your father's lieutenant for all time." Zeus told me, a hint of exasperation in his voice. "What say you, Perseus Jackson?"

I froze. Zeus had acted as if he expected me to ask that. I didn't know such a thing was possible, for the Olympians to turn people into gods. _A god? Immortal? Never to die? _Then I remembered the other part of what Zeus had said half a second earlier. _My father's lieutenant? In his kingdom, dealing with Amphitrite and Triton treating me like a talking dog? Hades no! _Other gods—Ares, Athena, and my dad—were agreeing with the idea, but I wasn't listening. I turned and looked at Annabeth, who was standing maybe a dozen feet behind me, hoping to get advice. She was staring at the ground, a crushed look on her face, like she was trying not to cry or throw up.

Then it dawned on me… I didn't know exact details, but from what I knew and the look on Annabeth's face, I could make an educated guess. _Gods can't interfere with mortals. They can pick wives and make them immortal, but even then they end up cheating on them, and Annabeth's only a teenager anyway…I'd lose her. _The buzz, the excitement and confusion left me. My calm returned. I knew what my answer was, and I knew I was making the right choice.

"No, thank you." I said politely. "I don't want you to turn me into a god, Lord Zeus."

"**What**?" Zeus sounded dangerously close to striking me with his master bolt. "You are **refusing** our generous gift?" I risked a very quick glance back at Annabeth. Her panicked expression had vanished, and now she looked like she wanted to scream with joy. I couldn't help but grin back.

"_Percy! Answer them._" My father warned me silently, snapping my attention back to the gods before any of them decided to turn me into a tuna fish.

"I don't wish to become a god." I repeated. Now most of the gods were scowling at me as though I had insulted them—thinking about it, I sort of had. Athena and Zeus looked the most angry. "Besides, you said I could _pick_ my gift, any gift _I_ want. I'll still take you up on that offer… eventually. I just don't know what to choose, my lords."

"You don't know what you want?" Apollo asked, eyebrows raised. I looked at Annabeth again. This time she met my gaze, and her eyes were shining.

"I do know what I want… and I already have it." I answered the god. "But I do have a request of all of you."

"What might that be?" Zeus inquired, looking genuinely interested.

"Claim your children." I said simply. "And the ones that aren't at camp… give us a list of who they are and where they are, so we can get to them before the monsters have a chance to."

"That seems like a good idea." Hermes said quietly, speaking for the first time in since the Fates had taken Luke's body away. He looked at the other gods. "Are we in agreement?" A murmur of _yes_'s went up.

"Then I take my leave, lords."

* * *

I swear, Athena is scarier than Kronos. Annabeth and I were making our way back towards the elevator, hand in hand. I looked at her face again for the ten thousandth time, then looked back at the path ahead of us... and there she was.

Athena herself, now dressed casually in a white blouse and jeans, looking like an angry mom who did _not_ like her daughter's boyfriend. My step faltered and I almost suggested to Annabeth we go touring Olympus before we left, but she just squeezed my hand and kept on walking. I decided there was _no way_ I was facing Athena alone and kept pace with Annabeth. The goddess nodded warmly at her daughter, then shifted her attention to me.

"So, you will remain a mortal, Percy Jackson." Athena remarked critically. She looked _very_ irritated, making me wonder if she had agreed that I could become a god just to get me away from Annabeth.

"Yes, my lady." I replied cautiously. The goddess crossed her arms.

"I would know your reasons why." She asked, not in a even slightly friendly way. A dozen different ways to answer that ran through my head, but I had no clue which to use. Annabeth chose that moment to shift my hand from her left to her right and pull my arm around her waist.

"He's not Poseidon, Mom." Annabeth cut in gently, providing some much-needed support. "And no one can choose their parents."

"A valid point." Athena conceded to her daughter, but fire was blazing in her eyes. She gave me a hard look. "You've exceeded my expectations once, Percy. I suggest for your own well-being that you continue to do so." With that, she brushed past me and strode off, back towards Olympus. My breathing resumed.

"I think she's starting to like you." Annabeth giggled, sounding relieved. I gave her a look of disbelief and she giggled. "Don't worry, Seaweed Brain. We'll be fine." _We,_ she had said. Not _you_.

* * *

By dinnertime, I was starting to wish I had asked the gods to abolish the seating rules at camp for my gift. The novelty of having my own house was still pretty nice. The part about having my own table had worn off half an hour after the first night, several years earlier. At least Pollux got to sit with his dad. Even Artemis's hunters seemed to be cheerful, despite being about eight fewer in number and nearly all of the survivors wearing bandages, slings, or casts. I caught Annabeth's attention halfway through the meal and waved for her to come sit with me, but she just smiled and shook her head.

So I had my pizza and Dr. Pepper alone, then roamed around the camp, making a pass by the pavilion ever few minutes, wondering when Annabeth would finish her meal. The third time around, Annabeth was gone, and I hadn't seen her leave. I checked the big house, the range, the arena, then finally gave up and headed back to my empty. Maybe it was just the after-effects of the battles, but I felt antsy. Almost bored. Mom wasn't at camp, of course. Dad and Tyson were both busy working on the underwater palace, many miles away. And I couldn't find Annabeth for the life of me.

So, I clicked the electric lanterns off, plopped down on my bunk and closed my eyes, deciding that I needed the rest anyway. There was just one small problem… I couldn't sleep. I laid there for maybe an hour before I gave up and rolled over, checking the time on my battery-powered clock.

It had been a stupid **five minutes**! I groaned and headbashed my pillow, punishing it for not taking away my ADHD. It dawned on me a few moments later that the five cups of Dr. Pepper I had had with dinner probably were partially to blame... the caffeine probably wouldn't wear off for another six hours or so. I started running through a mental list of things I could do. I could look for Annabeth some more, or just go knock on her cabin door and ask for her. I could head down to the arena and punch dummies. I could find Mrs. O'Leary and play with her. I could take Riptide, head into the woods and—

The doorknob squeaked as it turned, only to be replaced by the door's creaking as it swung open slowly. I shifted quietly, so it looked like I was sleeping on my back. The door creaked shut, and I opened my eyes a tiny bit.

Nothing in sight. I rolled over, getting a glimpse of the other side of the cabin. Empty.

The feet padded on, heading towards one of the tables (I had three in the cabin). I cracked an eye open and saw a miraculous sight—a blue object, the size of a small loaf of bread, move through the air and set itself down on one of my tables. Two forks and a knife appeared around waist-height, as if they have pulled out of an invisible pocket. I sloowwwlly rolled to the edge of the bed and stood, willing the floor not to creak. At the table, several candles appeared the same way the silverware had, and planted themselves in the blue object. I took several careful, quiet steps forward and grabbed at the air.

"Ahh!" A female voice shrieked as my hands ran into cloth and warm skin.

"Gotcha!" I shouted gleefully, my hands finding a hat bill that was about even with my head. I batted it away and a glowering Annabeth Chase stood before me, minus her invisibility cap.

"_You!_" She punctuated her irritation my grabbing my shoulders and giving them a push. "Arrg!" I almost collapsed laughing.

"_Me_?" I managed to stop laughing long enough gasp the word out. The antsy, slightly moody feeling had evaporated, replaced by a bubbling happiness. "Of course me! Who were you expecting?!"

"Someone a bit more mature!" She stamped her foot with frustration. I couldn't stop laughing, and she just looked cuter frustrated. Despite it all, she did smile. "Anyway, before you decided to give me a _heart attack_, I was going to wish you a happy birthday!" She clicked a lantern on, casting a warm glow over the room. I could now see that the blue thing was in fact a cake, roughly the length of a football.

"You're too kind." I wasn't laughing anymore, but there was still an idiotic grin on my face. "How old am I today?" She rolled her eyes and turned away, picking up the matches she had dropped.

"Sixteen, and with your brain, reaching it _was_ against all odds." She lit the candles and stepped back. "Now make a wish, and it better be good." I hesitated, thinking...

"Hmm…" I made my pick and blew out all three candles.

"What'd you wish for?" She asked.

"Can't tell, or it won't come true." I teased her. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that?"

"We children of Athena tell _our_ friends what we wish for, because we know they'll help it come true if they can." Annabeth countered, slicing the cake and handing me a piece on a napkin. "And you still have to decide what present you're getting from... well, all our parents." Names have power, so she didn't want to go around saying _Zeus_ or _Poseidon_ or anything like that if she didn't need to. That, and I suspected that her mother might not be too pleased if she noticed that we were alone in a cabin, either.

"I'll worry about that some other time." I told her, accepting the cake and taking a small bite. The frosting was blue, but a very chocolate flavored blue. It was good. I nodded and made the appropriate '"yummy"sounds. She cut a small piece from the cake for herself.

"Think you'll you change your mind, take their original offer?" She asked quietly, maybe a little solemnly. I almost choked on my cake.

"No way!" I sputtered when I finally cleared my throat. "Forever my in father's kingdom? You haven't met my half-brothers and my… I don't know, step-mom? Here, I'll make it official for you. I swear on the _Styx,_ god-hood won't be what I pick." Thunder suddenly boomed outside. Annabeth giggled, the seriousness gone. "I got the feeling, though, that your mom really wanted me to go with that." I added.

"Maybe she did." Annabeth admitted, sitting down near the foot of an unused bed. She nibbled her piece of cake as if she didn't feel like eating. "But no matter what she wanted, I'm glad you didn't take it."

"Then I am too." I said, wiping spots of blue frosting off my hands and tossing the now-empty napkin at the table. "But hey, I was thinking… when you were kidnapped, on the way to get you back, I did see this really neat orchard not far from your house… the Garden of Hesperides or something, I think it was called." Her eyes widened a little and I sat down next to her on the bed, between her and the wall. "So, if in five or ten years we decide immortality is something we want to try, I could go raid the place, nab two apples…" Annabeth laughed and pushed me backwads, sending my head thumping down onto the pillow. I tried to sit back up, but she leaned forward, her arms on my chest, pinning me down. I could feel heat radiating off her.

"You know, you still have that present left. You could just _ask_ for some golden apples, instead of facing a hundred-headed dragon," She teased, her face inches away from mine. Her breath smelled like blue chocolate. "It'd be the easy way."

"The easy way?" I repeated slowly, as if this was a strange idea. A small part me noticed that my heart was beating a lot faster than normal. "Annabeth, since when do we _ever_ do things any way but the hard way?"

"There's nothing wrong with doing things the easy way sometimes, especially when the opportunity is _right in your face_." She chided, sounding as if maybe she wasn't talking about apples at all. Silence reigned for a few moments, our eyes locked on each other. I leaned a little closer, and almost hesitantly brushed my lips against hers, tilting my head slightly to the side. We broke and she leaned back slightly, almost looking amused.

"You don't need to be so shy, Percy." She murmured, a gentle smile on her face. The teasing, mocking was gone. "Haven't you ever kissed a girl before?"

"As of thirty seconds ago, no." I admitted quietly, very unsure of how this whole thing worked. "You're my first. And I hope… I hope that you'll be my only." Something changed in her face. I'm not sure what it was, but I saw the difference. Our mouths met again and I had a second try. We separated a few moments later, but instead of moving back, she leaned closer and lightly bumped the side of her head against mine, her breath warm on my ear, her whispered reply barely audible.

"_Back at ya, Seaweed Brain_."


	4. What Happened After

You guys wanted another chapter, so I oblige. This one was a lot more difficult for me—I actually had to come up with something original, instead of just altering some of the book. Seeing as the next Camp Half-Blood series comes out in a few months, I figured this final chapter should help lead up to it.

* * *

_If you're ever lost _

_And find yourself all alone _

_ I'd search forever just to bring you home! _

_ Here and now, it's a vow!_

—"Come For You"

* * *

_Percy_

"Come on, you're supposed to kill me." I admonished the new camper. I swiped at his head, making him duck. "Act like it."

"I'm trying!" He protested. "You're a lot taller than me." He stood maybe 4'10", I would guess. I was 5'9", so I did have a bit of an advantage. At nineteen, I was one of the oldest campers, anyway.

"So are most of the monsters out there." I twirled Riptide in my hand. "And sometimes you'll get cornered. But there's always a way out, for those clever enough to find it."

"Isn't that what my mom told you?" A female voice called from behind me. I turned, grinning, and the camper immediately lunged forward, slashing at my knees. Stupid son of Hermes.

"Hey!" I yelled, blocking his sudden attack. "That's poor sportsmanship!" I struck back a few times, making him step back. Despite being most invincible, I was wearing heavy armor over my chest and back. I wasn't going to risk some camper getting a lucky stab and accidentally killing me, but I could hardly just cover my Achilles' spot and nothing else. It would be a dead giveaway.

"He's smart." Annabeth remarked. "In real fights, sportsmanship doesn't count. Just who wins." The kid grinned happily at earning her praise, his attention on her for a brief second. I seized the opportunity to kick him squarely in the chest and send him to the ground.

"First rule of combat." I admonished. "Never let your opponent—or anything else— distract you. But at the same time, you **must** be completely aware of your surroundings." He looked puzzled. I tried to make myself a little clearer. "Learn to keep track of what's happening around you, but at the same time stay focused." I gestured for him to wait, then turned and strode to the edge of the arena, smiling broadly.

"Hey, wise girl." I risked a kiss, half-listening for the camper to charge and try to stab me in the butt. "How'd it go?" Hearing nothing, I bravely clicked riptide back into pen form and pocketed it.

"I finally got complete approval." Annabeth said proudly. "Of course, that was only because our favorite war god and love goddess weren't there." She carefully avoiding saying their names. I knew that Aphrodite and Ares had been holding up approval of her plans, saying they wanted more statues and monuments to them. "So, I'm going to review it over one more time, then send it back to Olympus by Hermes Express."

"How long will construction take?" I asked. Annabeth looked sheepish.

"About an hour." She admitted, a little embarrassed, as if the plans should have been more complicated. "Hephaestus will be in charge."

"One hour?" The camper repeated loudly, laughing. We both turned indignantly.

"You look bored. How about you go do fifty push ups while we're talking?" I suggested. "Over on the _other_ side of the arena." He grumbled something about senior campers and big heads, but went.

"Second to last trainee of the day." I sighed. "I better finish up here."

"You do _teach_ them skills, not just thrash them, right?" Annabeth teased. I shrugged.

"About fifty-fifty each, I'd say." I clicked riptide, and the pen extended into a normal-sized sword again. "See ya at dinner, wise girl."

* * *

"Depressing, isn't it?" I asked reflectively, staring towards the back of my cabin, towards the sea. The odds were not favoring us.

"The view?" Annabeth asks. Her focus was on her easel, but she looked up briefly. "I like it."

"A hero's fate is never happy." I said, recalling what my father had told me. "How many heroes have you ever read about that had a happy ending? Besides Perseus, son of Zeus?"

"Are you afraid something's going to happen?" She questioned, looking a little concerned. "Rachel would have warned us. Or Apollo."

"Maybe." I said, a little doubtfully. Rachel didn't even remember the prophecies the Oracle gave; Apollo wasn't around enough to hear all of them. "Almost all heroes end up being betrayed or ticking off the gods and being cursed. Didn't Hercules get poisoned by a centaur? Hippolyta was killed by Hercules in his escape after getting some relic. Helen and Paris started a war and got thousands of people killed—didn't both of them also die? Atalanta and her husband were turned into lions after they defiled Zeus's temple."

"They were still together." Annabeth pointed out. "Zeus made a mistake and thought that lions could only mate with leopards."

"I'm sure they would have preferred staying human." I countered. "So many heroes end up having awful fates. Including Achilles, who was just as invincible as me."

"Achilles didn't have a daughter of Athena around to watch out for him." Annabeth teased. "What do you suggest we do? Go bribe the Three Fates, find out what's going to happen to us?"

"No." I sighed. "I don't think it would work."

"Neither do I." Annabeth concurred. She erased a small piece of a statue and redrew it. It must not have come out right, because she frowned and tossed the pencil aside on one of the cabin's many spare beds. "Percy, what's wrong? This isn't like you."

"Hermes had a good suggestion." I managed a smile, ignoring her question. "He said that his father had given a certain garden as an engagement present, and that one of his half-brothers had already stolen from it."

"And Hera tried to kill him. A lot of times. And she made him go insane and kill his own family." Annabeth said, leaving her easel and sitting down next to me on my bed. "You've been having nightmares again." It wasn't a question.

"A few." I admitted. "More, lately. At least it's not visions."

"What about?" Her voice was soft, quiet, and she scooted up against me, brushing my Achilles' spot lightly with the palm of her hand.

"We're in the Fields of Asphodel, being judged" I tried to remember the details, wishing I could just forget it all. "We were killed, but I can never remember how."

"Do we go to Elysium?" She asked. I wonder briefly if she's curious or just wants me to get this off my chest.

"They decide that you earned it pretty quickly." I recall. "It was Thomas Jefferson, Oskar Schindler, and King Richard the Lionhearted. Then I step up, and they start reviewing my file. But alarms sound, and I see Hades' army rushing towards the gates. Schindler looks at me sadly and says, 'To think, young godling… you might have prevented this.' "

"The prophecy." Annabeth sat bolt upright. " '_Foes bear arms to the doors of death_.' It's the prophecy!"

"Maybe." I allowed. "I don't know." The last thing I want to do is freak Chiron and the gods out because I had a few nightmares. It was a bad dream, but it wasn't a vision.

"We should talk to Chiron about this." Annabeth said, sounding worried. "It could be happening. We need to prepare."

"When people go out of their way to stop prophecies, they always make them come true." I reminded her. "Even the mortals know that."

"Well, seaweed brain, what do _you_ suggest we do?" Annabeth asked, irritation lacing her voice. "Instead of telling Chiron, that is."

"You're taking this way too seriously." I was very much regretting not being more cheerful. That, and frantically trying to think of how to turn this conversation around. "It's just, it made me think about how heroes' stories always end. So I was thinking about how to make sure ours' doesn't end like that."

"The Garden of Hesperides?" Annabeth filled in. I nodded again.

"The Apples of Immortality. They don't just stop your aging—they make you stronger." I said. "Your sight and hearing become perfect. Wounds heal right away. If an old person eats one, it returns them to the prime of their life and keeps them there."

"You sound like a salesman." She sighed, shaking her head. "Percy, it's almost impossible to steal the golden apples. Hercules did it—but he also killed the Nemean lion with his bare hands. Aphrodite has a stash of them, but she doesn't give them out on request."

"You don't think I could get two?" I asked. Annabeth tried to hide a smirk.

"Percy, only Hercules has ever done it. Four heroes have tried. Luke failed, but he survived and that's more than the others could claim." Annabeth informed him. "You _do_ remember what you told me a few seconds ago? People make things happen by trying to prevent them?"

"I considered that." I couldn't stop from grinning. "But, thank the gods, it didn't happen." I walked over to the cabin's safe and turned the dial a few times. The lock clicked, the door opened, and I withdrew a metal lock box.

"You didn't—" Annabeth started. I swung the lid back and revealed two golden apples. "You…" Her eyes were fixed on the apples and her words came out very slowly, like talking wasn't important. "Hera's garden… you stole from…" Her hand drifted out almost on it's own, gently brushing one of the godly fruits. I inhaled the smell and my stomach growled, my mouth watering, hunger coursing through me immediately. Annabeth looked just as tempted, but she wrenched her attention away.

"You stole two apples of immortality." She stated, not looking at the fruit. I forced myself to close the lid, removing the apples from sight. I still felt hungry, but it ebbed a little and I could think again. It took me a few seconds to remember what Annabeth had said.

"Yeah… I raided the garden." I nodded proudly. "I managed to scare the Hesperides off, without hurting them. But then I had to fight Ladon, and, believe me, that was really scary."

"And now you want us to become immortal?" Annabeth concluded, looking up at me as if she couldn't believe what she was saying.

"Why not?" I asked, grinning. "It'll be amazing. We'll be living legends."

"I think you know 'why not,' Percy." Annabeth replied evenly. I winced, remembering my mother saying the exact same thing when I wanted to turn Smelly Gabe into a statue. "The same reason you told my mother that you didn't want to become a god. If you freeze things, they'll never get any worse. But they'll never get any _better_, either!" She pushed the metal box away and gave me a hug. "Bad things could happen, Percy. Bad things do happen. But we'll get past them, together."

"But things are _perfect_ now." I protested weakly, very unhappy with the way this was turning out. "We can keep it like this forever! We can be in the prime of our lives in a hundred years. We can cheat Hades himself!"

"Percy…" Annabeth put her arms around my neck and kissed me lightly, her gray eyes locked on mine. "You don't… stop designing, just because you made something great. You keep drawing. You'll make some blunders, but you'll also make things even more amazing. You don't freeze your life as a teenager anymore than you stop a hike once you find a good spot—you keeping going. Because…" She paused for a moment, finding her words. "Because, Percy, you never know what the tide might bring in." I managed a tiny smile.

"That was from Castaway." I remembered. Annabeth laughed shamelessly.

"Yeah." She admitted, smiling broadly. "But it was perfect."

"Fine… you win, for today." I slowly got up, and very reluctantly put the apples back in the safe.

"You're keeping them?" She asked. "Hera would probably be less mad if you give them back." Something between a bark and a snicker came out before I could stop it.

"No way." I objected, spinning the dial. "I worked hard for these. I'll wait until you catch the flu or get a broken leg, then see how you feel about it. That, or maybe just slice one up and give it to you in your lunch." She opened her mouth and for an instant I thought she was going to ask if I was serious.

I was.

"I don't think I'm going to change my mind about this, seaweed brain." She informed me, a hint of condensation in her voice. I love her, but she can be such a smart-aleck sometimes. Then again, that's probably normal for a brain child.

"So… you'll think it over." I said flatly, fighting disappointment. Annabeth rolled her eyes and I could see her patience wearing thin.

"Percy, you want to be nineteen forever? You think I want to spend eternity as an eighteen-year old? Seriously?" I looked away, thinking, drumming my fingers.

"That's a trick question, isn't it?"

"Argg!" She threw a pillow at my head. "Percy, it's a bad idea. Think about it. For one, what if we had kids? They'd look older than us pretty quickly. It'd be so weird.."

"Kids?" I asked incredulously. "We've got two apples of immortality and you're thinking about having kids?"

"Don't you want to have kids?" Annabeth asked. I must have had a weird look on my face, because she quickly added, "I mean, eventually?"

"Uh…" I could not imagine myself as a father. Ever. But judging by the look on her face, now was not the time to say that. As little as I knew about girls, I could tell a change in tactics was needed. "What's so wrong with you being eighteen forever? I mean, you're amazingly beautiful. I don't see any downsides." The compliment hit its mark. She was still frustrated, but I saw a slight change.

"As stubborn as the sea, like always… " She muttered. "Percy, I'll make you a deal. Think about it—and keep it to yourself!—and if you still can't see a reason not to do it by next week, we'll talk about it again. Okay?" I nodded rapidly and she looked relieved that I was dropping it, at least for now.

"It's getting late. You should probably head back to your cabin." I reminded her. She looked a little stung, as if I was kicking her out, but it was close to the Athena cabin's lights out time. She carefully organized her things on a spare bed, then walked to the door, but paused before she left.

"Hey…" She said, a little hesitantly. "I know… you probably thought this was a great idea, and I'm sorry I don't agree right now… but thank you. Very much."

"For what?" I asked, walking over to join her in the doorway. Annabeth shrugged, like she felt awkward.

"For… for saying that you want to spend forever with me." She said quietly. "I love you too, Percy."

"Aren't I suppose to say that first?" I wondered. She smiled.

"You never have to."

* * *

The Next Morning

_Annabeth_

"This is seriously sleeping in late, even for you!" I rapped my knuckles on the door again, wishing that door knockers had been put on the cabins. I would have just walked in, but I hated waking up with someone standing over me and I knew Percy did as well. After another thirty seconds passed and I heard nothing, though, I tossed out such courtesy and strode inside. The inside of the cabin was dim, shades drawn over the windows.

"Percy?" I called. He hadn't been at breakfast, three hours earlier. Normally that would have been alarming, but Percy frequently slept in, needing more sleep every since he bathed in the River Styx. Everyone knew that. I moved a curtain aside, letting some light in.

His bed was knocked over onto it's side, the bottom facing the front of the cabin. I drew my knife—a modern Ka-Bar, not the blade Luke gave me years earlier— and walked forward slowly, making as little noise as possible.

He wasn't there. The bed was unmade and some of the sheets were ripped, but otherwise it was intact. I hesitantly tried to right it, but felt froze when I felt something sticky tug at my shoes. I moved my foot and noticed a small puddle, maybe two inches wide. _**No! **_ My hands were shaking as I scraped my knife against the remaining liquid, watching as a glob stuck to the metal.

Blood.

* * *

I don't remember screaming, but something brought my brother Malcolm and Chiron to the Poseidon cabin a few moments later.

"He's been taken, hasn't he?" Chiron asked, taking in the situation quickly. I nodded wordlessly, forcing myself not to cry. They started searching the cabin. Percy's sword was still on his dresser, in pen form. There were no traces of the dust monsters usually turned into when destroyed. I dimly heard Chiron leave, saying that he would contact Artemis and seek her help. Artemis and her hunters hated men, but Artemis had a soft spot for Percy since he had rescued her from the Titan's Curse. That, and her lieutenant Thalia was a dear friend of Percy's and mine. They would help.

We had nothing to go on and could only conclude a few basic facts. He had been taken in the night—long enough ago for the blood to coagulate—and had done it fast enough that he couldn't draw his sword. They hadn't taken anything else, either. The safe was untouched, two apples of immortality still inside, and a handful a drachmas remained in the saltwater fountain. It _was_ possible that the hunters would find a trail, but I doubted it. I picked up a picture off Percy's nightstand. The two of us, standing outside the Parthenon in Nashville.

"I'll find you." I choked out, his picture smiling up at me. The frame was shaking in my hand, grief and helpless rage tearing at my insides. "I swear on the Styx, I'll find you. I'll bring you home." A hand touched my shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, Annabeth." Malcolm said firmly, his voice not leaving any room for doubt. "Hermes, Apollo, Poseidon, Artemis… they favor him; they'll help us. The world isn't big enough to hide Percy for long. We **will** find him." I swallowed down my fear and picked up Riptide, then carefully slipped it my pocket. I would give it back to him when I found him. We would find him.

_We must._


	5. Finding the Lost Hero

This picks up after Lost Heroes, because I cannot wait a whole year for our favorite son of the sea god to return. So beware, it will make little sense if you haven't read the book. **Read**, _review_, and let me know what you think of it!

* * *

_**Annabeth**_

"You now have exactly two hours before Jason distracts them." The Ares camper declared, staring at his watch. "Better get moving."

"Percy'll probably remember you." Piper said encouragingly. She probably hadn't intentionally meant to use charmspeak, but it helped.

"Remember, don't get caught." Will Solace added helpfully. "But if you do, we're standing by to rescue you."

"I'll be careful." I muttered. I glanced at my own, customized watch from the Hephaestus cabin-it was actually a gps tracker. If I pressed the button three times, it would signal an alarm on Will Solace's laptop. "I'll call if I need help." With that, I slipped my Yankees cap on and vanished from sight. Ten yards off, I found the dirt path and started heading towards the Romans' camp. It was a risk—if someone was watching and had good vision, they'd be able to see the dirt flattening under my boots. But I didn't have much of a choice. It was either the woods, the bay, or the road. I picked the road.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_"I can't wait six months." I told Chiron furiously. "I'm getting Percy back now. Tomorrow." The old centaur looked up from his textbook. _

_"There doesn't seem to be a choice." He observed. "The Argo II isn't finished yet, is it?"_

_"I'm flying to San Francisco." I interrupted him. "The Stoll brothers know a charter pilot, he owns a Learjet. I hired him to fly me and four others. Once we're there, we'll buy a boat and search the coastline. The Roman's camp will be like ours, with direct access to the ocean, I'm sure." _

_"Who are you taking?" Chiron asked mildly. I was pleased to note the tense of his question. _

_"Piper Mclean, Jason Grace… probably Will Solace, and an Ares fighter… Vincent or Daniel, they're both pretty cool-headed." I told him. "It's a balanced team." _

_"Indeed." Chiron remarked. "You do understand the risks of taking such a small group, I hope? The Argo II will hold at least forty-demigods. The Romans will be less inclined to fight such a large force. Four Greeks, however… they will deal with you harshly, if they can." _

_"We won't give them that chance." I countered. "I've got a plan."_

_"Athena always does, it seems." Chiron observed. _

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Why doesn't satellite footage show anything?" Will mused, his laptop opened to google earth. Piper was walking back and forth anxiously, but the tent was so tiny she could only take two steps. Still, it was a work of art as far as camouflage was concerned-it adapted to whatever environment it was placed in, becoming almost invisible against the surroundings.

"Camp Half-Blood doesn't show up on satellite either." Vincent said quietly, checking one of his handgun's magazines. It was loaded with alternating lead and celestial bronze bullets. "Try to explain that."

"We should have researched Roman mythology more." Piper said nervously. "I mean, we know they'll have wolves, and satyrs, but what else?"

"Annabeth probably researched it enough on her own." Will commented. "Trust me, Piper. She's smart. I mean, all the Athena kids are brain kids, but she's the best. The first quest she went on involved going to the Underworld and ticking off Hades. Only a handful of heroes have ever escaped the Underworld once they journeyed there."

"That was the quest to get the lightening bolt back, right?" Piper asked, curious. Will nodded.

"Yeah. She, Percy, and a satyr. They had the kindly ones and Zeus himself trying to kill them the whole way." He recalled. "Amazing story."

"Will you two shut up?" The Ares camper asked flatly. "The camouflage won't do us any good if you two idiots keep chatting."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Percy**

"You know, it's gotten a lot harder to pass hall inspection since you showed up." Marie commented, tossing some dirty laundry in the hamper. "Not that I mind having a new little brother. Much."

"Aphrodite kids are neat freaks." I countered. "They marked us up for a comb being on the floor!" Marie sighed.

"Venus kids. Please, would you quit calling them by their Greek names?" She asked. "It's getting on my nerves. And it's embarrassing! This is the Neptune hall, we don't do stuff like that."

"Sorry." I muttered. "It just… seems right." She didn't hear the last part. Marie evened out her sheets one more time, then glanced over at me.

"I guess that'll due." She said. "Time for lunch."

"Right." The two of us—that's all the trainees the Neptune Hall has—head down to the dining hall. It's a neat building, made of white stone, complete with pillars and all that. Roman architecture. If it were Greek, they probably would've had an open pavilion instead… but where would they go when it rained? I froze for a moment, realizing what I was mulling over. _Where did __**that**__ come from?_

"Oh, and we've got King of the Hill tonight." Marie reminded me as we wait in line. "We're with the Mercury and Mars Halls. I made some deals."

"Against Athena and their allies?" I asked unhappily. King of the Hill was simple-one team held the fortress on the hill, the other team attacked it. It doesn't seem right, that we were going to be duking it out with Athena campers... I mean, that one Athena camper had hated me at first, I knew, but we had become friends. The hesitation must have showed in my voice, because my half-sister picked up on it.

"The **Minerva** trainees hate us." Marie snapped, her patience running low at my blunders. "Neither of us have any friends in that hall, so why not fight them?" I froze, confused.

"One of them was my friend…" I try to remember what she looked like, but the memory slips away like fish evading capture. Again. "Her name is… uh…"

"No, none of them were your friends." Marie retorted. "Believe me, it would be all over camp if a Minerva girl was friends with a Neptune boy." I fell silent.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As much as I would like to run, I can't. I needed to keep my breathing quiet, and exhausting myself won't help. So I walk, quietly and quickly.

A full mile later, I found it—an impressive arch leading into a camp. I couldn't read the name, though, since it was written in latin. But no invisible wall held me back, so I slipped inside their boundaries pretty easily. There was a demigod watching in a guard tower, but I was invisible. _Thanks again for the cap, Mom,_ I whisper silently to Athena.

Their camp had a similar layout to ours. Sword pit, archery range… swarms of demigods in purple t-shirts were heading towards one building. Probably for a meal. I headed for their cabins—if Percy was there, I'd find proof of it in the Poseidon cabin. Then again, _cabin_ wasn't the right word for their design. They looked more like miniature temples.

Above the doorway to each was a carved emblem—the sun, the moon, a lightening bolt... I ran from cabin to cabin until I found one with a Trident carved above it. It was empty, so I let myself in.

The beds looked mostly unused—except for two. One was neatly made, and the other looked like the sheets had been thrown on by someone running through the cabin. I grabbed the pillow and sniffed it.

Yep, Percy had slept here.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_"Look, they're going to feel violated if you sneak in." Jason argued. "It won't help the peace effort. Besides, what makes you think Percy will even recognize you?" The plane shook briefly, turbulence jolting us around. I wondered idly if Jason was causing that. _

_"You've got a lot of your memories back." I reasoned. "So, why wouldn't Percy? He'll remember me. And I can prove what I'm saying to him—I brought some photos. I went with his family and him on vacation a few months ago. We're in the pictures together." _

_I placed the booklet down, only for Piper to pick it up and start flipping through it. She paused about halfway through, staring at one picture. I blushed a little, guessing which photo she was probably looking at. Will Solace leaned over and peeked, then started grinning. I reclaimed the evidence, pausing to glance at the photo. A much happier me and a much less vanished Percy were standing knee high in the ocean surf, arms around each other and mouths joined. _

_"That… might not be enough." Piper said gently. "What if he doesn't remember you?" _

_"I've got more, something he'll know is true." I retorted. "I know where his Achilles' spot is." _

_"Where?" Vincent questioned immediately. I scowled at him, and he went back to sharpening a combat knife. _

_"Make sure none of the Romans see __**that**__." Will Solace joked. "Or we'll be in trouble."_

_"This isn't a good plan, Annabeth. We should be open and honest with them." Jason said again. "I'm their leader. They'll listen to me. They won't hurt you guys, or Percy just because you're Greek. But if you betray their trust from the start, they'll be angry." My patience ended. Jason had been telling me how bad my plan was for the last thousand miles._

_"We're talking about people who conquered towns, killed the children, and then made their parents serve them a banquet." I snapped. "This is my mission, Jason, like it or not. You will obey my orders or I'll pop that door open and you can try skydiving into California without a parachute." Vincent perked up a little at the prospect of getting to kill someone. Outside, thunder boomed, like Zeus didn't appreciate us threatening his kid. _

_"Jason, Annabeth knows what she's doing." Piper said, her voice rich and persuasive. "Strategy is what her cabin does." Jason looked tired. _

_"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."_


	6. Tricky Stuff

Thank you all very much for the large amount of positive feedback. And here, we continue on, roughly where the last chapter left off. Oh, and be aware that I'm not following the books precisely—if I changed something in a past chapter in this story from how the book had it, it's changed in all following chapters I write. Remember to read, review, and let me know what you think.

* * *

_When my faith is getting weak, and I feel like giving in, you breath into me again!—_"Awake and Alive."

**Annabeth**

Weaving through a crowd isn't very hard if you have a little practice. You look for a gap, step forward, look for another gap, and keep moving.

Try that when you're invisible and _you're_ the gap. I had to skirt the crowds entirely and keep a safe distance as I sneaked into the dining hall. I scanned the tables, not faces—if this camp was anything like home, they would have to sit at their own tables. Finding the table with two people would be a lot easier than scanning dozens of faces.

Nope, nope, nope… nope…

**There**. It was too far off for me to see clearly, but it was the only table that had just two people, and both of them had black hair. I started making my way through the crowd of demigods and satyrs, trying to get close enough to verify.

_Romans,_ a voice called out silently. All heads turned toward a huge wolf standing on a slightly raised area. It hadn't talked. Not audibly, but we had all heard it._ The earth shakes. The gods have fallen silent. We are approaching bitter times… _ I shook off my surprise and kept going. It was easier to move with every frozen, staring at the wolf, listening to its silent announcements. I got closer to the table, but the dark-haired camper had his back to me and wasn't looking around. Hmm. I reached over and snagged a cherry tomato out of a demigod's salad, then hurled it at the dark-haired camper. Success. It bounced off the back of his head, and he instantly turned around.

Percy Jackson.

It was him—and now it was my turn to freeze, even as my heart started racing. After weeks of searching, of tracking down spirits and gods… there he was, just a few yards away from me.

Now was the hard part, I knew. I had to get him alone and hope he remembered enough that he'd trust me. I winced inside, a stab of pain needling my heart, making me feel ill for a moment.

We had fought titans and demigods together, from Central Park to the throne room of the gods, but now I had to hope he'd trust me.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Didn't Percy Jackson duel Ares once, and wound him?" Piper asked, ignoring Will's rapid head-shaking and hand gestures. Vincent paused for a moment, then readjusted his body armor.

"Yes." He said icily.

"So why're you helping rescue him?" Piper continued, sounding genuinely curious. "I mean, you're risking your life to help someone who hurt your father."

"It's necessary." He said coldly. "Getting Percy Jackson back is critical to the survival of Camp Half-Blood, and the gods—my father as well. He is obviously one of the seven that will defeat the giants."

"Oh." Piper said awkwardly. "So you don't really care if Percy dies or not, or if he remembers Annabeth. You just… want to complete the mission."

"And that's totally good enough reason." Will Solace interrupted rapidly. "I mean, is there any other better reason than, 'I want to help the gods?' "

"What do you want me to say?" Vincent asked, scowling. "That I'm doing this to help your boyfriend get back to his fellow Romans? Or maybe I owe Percy?"

"No, no." Piper backed up. "I, I was just curious." Silence reigned for a few moments, until the Ares camper let out a long sigh.

"I do care if Percy lives or not." He sounded worn out. "Publicly, though… all of us in the Ares cabin need to loathe him. So we do."

"And… privately?" Piper asked gently.

"Privately… privately, we know he's a hero, and that he did the right thing." Vincent admitted awkwardly, like he was forcing the words out. "Happy now?" Piper gave him a sympathetic hug.

"Hey, we can't choose anything about our parents." She said reassuringly. "All we can decided is who _we_ will be."

"I think Percy's a hero, too." Will chimed in. "Can I have a hug?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

I had to wait for lunch to end. At least Percy wasn't the type to sit around spending an hour on his lunch—still, fifteen minutes was a long time to wait. I made sure to stay out of the way as crowds left. Percy spoke again with his half-sister, and they left the dining hall. I followed, feeling like that guy from _Assassin's Creed,_ as I maneuvered through the crowd. They headed off towards a path leading to the inlet. Swimming, or boating practice probably. I kept them in sight. The woods lessened, and I could make out the water. Percy and his half-sibling were heading towards a dock.

I scanned the area anxiously. Besides Percy, there were only a few other demigods—it looked like my best chance yet. I walked lightly out onto the pier, sensing an opening. Percy and his sister were getting ready to use a small boat. His sister was closer to the land, and maybe four yards away from Percy. I could push her into the water, jump on the boat with Percy, and we'd be home free.

If only life were that simple.

"…Neptune. Not Poseidon. Get that through your head." His sister snapped as I got closer. We Greeks didn't like it when Jason referred to the gods by their Roman names. Apparently, Percy was referring to the gods by their Greek names, and it was ticking off his sister.

"_Erre es korakas._" I muttered, feeling defensive for my boyfriend. Two heads snapped around.

"What was that?" The sister asked, baffled.

" 'Go to the crows'? " Percy offered. His sister looked baffled. I grinned, despite being invisible. Percy would know Ancient Greek as well as English_._ No one else here would. I carefully stepped past the girl, moving closer to Percy.

"You heard the voice?" The Neptune girl asked. Percy nodded. The girl hesitated, but slowly went back to readying the boat.

"_This isn't your home, Percy. You must escape!_" I whispered in ancient Greek. He froze, then looked around several times. With any luck, he'd conclude a god was talking to him and obey. _"Go somewhere alone, and help will find you._" His sister had boarded the craft, and was checking the fuel level. Percy was visibly trying to decide on what to do.

"Uh…" He grabbed his stomach. "I, I don't feel good, Marie. You go on… I need to use the toilet. _Really _bad." Marie groaned, but didn't argue.

"Fine." She conceded. "Catch up with me later." Percy thanked her, then ran back to land. I followed, hope sparking to life inside me.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_A day earlier..._

_ "Annabeth." A voice said quietly. I blinked a few times, having difficulty seeing. A few minutes ago I had been relaxing on a pontoon boat cruising up the coast near San Francisco, scouting for the Roman demigod camp with the others. Now I was outside the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee—Percy and I had visited it a few times. It was a full sized replica of a Greek temple to my mother, complete with an enormous statue of her. I loved it. Percy endured it, for me._

_ "Mother?" I asked, hesitantly. My vision cleared, and my doubts died. She looked like any other mom right now, wearing a normal blouse and blue jeans._

_ "Indeed." Athena smiled. "It's been so long. I'm sorry I haven't called sooner." I hugged her, grinning like a fool. She embraced me back, warmly. _

"_I've been praying so much…" I said anxiously. "I thought you had left us behind!" She looked hurt. _

"_Zeus has forbidden all contact with the mortal world… and for us, that includes our children." She said regretfully. "Fortunately, Morpheus, the god of dreams, still holds a bit of a grudge against my father. To spite Zeus, he has been helping all of us contact our children through dreams, and making it harder for Zeus to discover it. Apollo, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Demeter…all of us have used his help. That's how I come to you now."_

"_So…" I gathered my wits. "Will this plan work? Can I get Percy back?" She sighed._

"_It will work, though maybe not the way you plan it." She advised. "You must be careful. And don't listen to Jason. Stealth is wise. Look at Odysseus. I made sure he didn't just walk into his home and announce himself when he finally made it back, didn't? It would have been suicide." I absorbed this for a moment._

_ "Is the team good? We keep arguing… it's discouraging." I admitted. Athena paused. _

_ "They will do their tasks." She confirmed. "Is that all you wanted to talk about? Getting Percy back?" _

_ "No." I sat down against a massive pillar. "I wanted to talk about… everything." _

_"I wish we could, Annabeth." Athena sat down next to me, her eyes off on the Nashville skyline. "But we only have a few more minutes before you're woken, so you'll have to pick the most important things." Her hand found mine and squeezed it comfortingly. _

_ "Think I should eat the golden apple Percy gave me?" I asked suddenly. "Those two apples are still in his safe." Athena looked reflective for a moment. _

_"Achilles said— in the Underworld— that he would rather be a poor farm worker and live, than be king of the dead." She commented. "That should answer your question well enough."_

_"Okay…" I filed that away for later and searched for another question. "Will we win? Will we beat the giants? So much seems to be going wrong now."_

_ "Your friend Jason already made excellent progress." Athena replied. "He and Zeus defeated my nemesis, Enceladus. I'd say things are going well so far." _

_ "Yeah… we are doing okay." I admitted. "I guess… I just thought that everything would be great after we beat Kronos. That it would get better, not worse. Now Percy's gone and the earth itself is getting angry at us."_

_ "No good deed goes unpunished." Athena said quietly. She glanced at her watch. "You'll wake up very soon, now. Remember, have some faith, Annabeth. Although I might not be able to show up as much as I'd like, I do keep a close eye on you. And don't worry, I'll be helping you and your friends along on this journey." _


	7. Bits and Pieces

_The world we knew won't come back, the time we've lost can't get back, the life we had won't be ours again.—_"Never Too Late."

**Annabeth **

Percy obviously had no clue who the voice was, but he obeyed it anyway. I followed him halfway across the camp, back to the Poseidon/Neptune cabin, and just managed to slip inside before the door swung shut behind him. He sat down on his bunk, looking around anxiously. I felt the same, but I was careful enough to peek out the front windows and make sure no one was headed over.

"Alright…" He said to no one. "I'm alone. Where's the help?"

"Right here." I took my cap off and became visible. He looked startled, but I saw recognition cross his face.

"You're…" He paused, trying to remember. "You're Anna, from the Athena cabin."

"Anna_beth_," I corrected, disappointment hitting me. "Anna's close enough, though."

"Okay…" he said. "So… what's going on?"

"You don't remember much, do you?" I asked, trying to sound neutral. He shook his head ruefully.

"Bits and pieces…" He said unhappily. "I remember you, some. You… you got a broken arm in a fight. And another time… you were on stage, burning a flag or something, and you were crying." A little hope flared up inside me. He remembered the fight with Kronos, at least slightly, and he remembered me burning his funeral shroud.

"Percy, you don't belong here." I started explaining quickly. "You're Greek. This camp is Roman. We need to get you back to Camp Half-Blood where you belong before the Romans realize who you are and kill you."

"Why would they kill me?" Percy asked, baffled.

"There's been a blood feud since Troy was burned down by the Greeks, supposedly over Helen." I admitted. "Aeneas escaped, formed Rome, and they later conquered Greece in revenge."

"How'd I get here?" He questioned.

"Hera stole your memories and kidnapped you." I said quickly. "Look, I can explain everything on the flight home, but we don't have enough time for questions now…" I thought of something, and took a pen out of my jacket pocket.

"Here." I handed it to him, allowing myself a small smile. "Take this. It's a powerful weapon." He accepted it gingerly.

"This is a pen." Percy stared at it. "Anna, this is a pen!"

"Is it?" I aimed the tip away from both our bodies, then clicked it. It extended into a double-edged celestial bronze sword.

"Whoa!"

"Your old sword." I explained, then pressed a button. It became a pen again, and I dropped it in his hands. "You might need it." I moved towards the door, about to put my cap on. Percy hadn't stood.

"Not convinced?" I realized. Percy hesitated, but nodded. "I can prove it to you."

"How?" He asked.

"Before fighting Kronos, you went and bathed in the River Styx." I explained. "Which is why you're mostly invulnerable. But _I_ know your Achilles' spot, because _you_ showed it to me."

"So, where is it?" He asked. I moved closer, until our bodies were almost touching.

"I'll show you." I said quietly, putting my hand under his shirt and running it down his back. "Right… here." I pressed down a small patch of skin opposite his navel, and he visibly shuddered. He had told me before that it felt wonderful. "That's your mortal spot. The one part of your body that isn't invulnerable, so you—"

"Umm, Percy?" We both spun around at the voice. Marie was standing in the doorway. I swore silently. "Percy, I thought you had cramps or something."

"Marie…" Percy fumbled. "Uh, this is my friend Annabeth, from the At—Minerva cabin." His sister looked at me coldly. My pulse sped up significantly. I had thought she would be away for at least an half hour.

"Minerva Hall, huh?" She asked. "I don't remember you."

"I just got here a few days ago…" I lied weakly. "It was tough. My protector and I were chased by hellhounds the whole way."

"I see…" Marie said, in a tone that said, '_Yeah right!_' "Annabeth… maybe you should do some research."

"On what?" I replied, gripping my baseball cap.

"Maybe on camp initiation, for starters…" Marie shot back. "All demigods that come here come as **infants**, and only if Lupa deems them worthy!" She stepped back outside the cabin and started screaming.

"The Greeks are here! To ARMS!" She hollered. I slipped my baseball cap on and turned invisible, pausing to give Percy some rapid instructions.

"Get to the San Francisco International airport, hanger 16!" I ordered. "I'll meet you there!" Marie grabbed for me, but I tripped her and slipped out the cabin door, dodging as half a dozen Romans poured into it. I moved to make my escape, keeping next to buildings to avoid being bumped into. Satyrs—fauns, were running around, but I doubted I smelled different enough for them to single me out, even if they caught a whiff of me. A few minutes later I had crept far enough away to walk calmly, without fear of bumping into anyone. I took a few deep breaths and glanced back. They probably wouldn't realize that Percy was a Greek. He had believed me, I knew that. All we had to do was wait for him to leave the camp, regroup with him, and we'd be home free. Maybe we could leave the whole peace-making effort to Chiron, once the _Argo_ _II _was finished… a shadow on the ground made me pause and look up.

_Griffon_. I gripped the hilt of my knife, trying to remember how good their eyes were. I doubted it could see me—after all, the cap was from Athena herself, and I don't think my mom would give me faulty equipment. It circled a few more times, and I started walking very slowly—

It immediately let out a scream and dived. I ran, realizing my mistake too late. It had seen the grass shift under my feet when I moved—that was the only explanation. A rush of wind gave me enough warning to dive and roll out of the way, but it didn't circle around for another pass. It landed. I drew my knife, trying to remember how a lion would attack. It screamed again, bringing more attention to itself. I was guessing I had a few seconds to kill it and run before a crowd dog piled on me.

"Surrender or die!" It growled in a strange, deep voice. I tapped the alarm on my wristwatch several times while I had the chance. I glanced at my knife, then at the griffon.

This wasn't going to work.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Crud." Two heads turned quickly.

"What's wrong?" Piper asked. Will was staring at the laptop.

"She signaled. Something went wrong." The archer shook his head. "She wouldn't do that unless she was captured or Percy was in trouble."

"She's blown." Vincent said matter-of-factly. "We'll need to rescue her. Percy too, I bet.'

"We don't know if she even found Percy, or if he remembers." Will reminded him. "He might not want to leave."

"Even if he has amnesia, we can still use him as a human shield." Vincent commented wryly. "It would be very effective." Piper looked horrified. Will appeared to be considering it.

"We have to call Chiron." Piper took a cell phone out of her backpack. Will stopped her.

"No phone calls." He ordered. "You'll attract every monster within five miles, and that's the last thing we need."

"They won't attack so close to a demigod camp." Piper retorted. "We need help."

"Yes and no." Vincent cut in. "Monsters will attack if you make that call, and no, we don't need help. We can get her out."

"The two of you?" Piper asked skeptically. "Against a hundred demigods and who knows what else?"

"It's doable." Will assured her. Vincent started dumping out the contents of his duffel bag, looking for something. Piper watched in morbid fascination as he sorted through a pile of handguns, knives, spare magazines, and other pieces of equipment. "We'll go in late at night, probably around two am. Then we'll just have to deal with sentries."

"I brought a suppressor for my 1911." Vincent chimed in, screwing a black silencer onto a semiautomatic handgun. "And it's a .45, so it's already subsonic. But I didn't bring LTL's."

"What are LTL's?" Piper asked immediately, wondering what he meant by 'subsonic'.

"Less than lethal." Will supplied. "Don't worry, I brought tranquilizers, I can deal with the sentries on the guard towers."

"Problem will be getting out quickly enough." Vincent remarked. "We don't know how long we have once we take a guard down."

"Then all they have to do is seal the gate and we're locked in." Will agreed. "It'll have to be fast." Vincent took something out of his bag, a tan color and shaped like a brick.

"I've got three C4 charges. Each is powerful enough to blast through a brick wall, easily." He said. "I can set them around camp before we rescue Annabeth. If we're discovered, we blow them and make a new exit."

"We'll do that," Will said. "But we'll still need an escape route once we get them out. The Romans will chase us." They both fell silent for a few moments, then looked at Piper simultaneously. She instantly felt wary.

"What?" She asked, anticipating the worst. Will took a set of keys out of his pocket.

"Can you pilot the pontoon boat Annabeth bought?" He asked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Annabeth **

Hurbis. That was my fatal flaw, and it had gotten me again. Believing that I could pull this off single-handedly… I smacked my forehead again, pacing in my cell. They had a small jail, six cells total, under their main hall. I examined what I had to work with again, wondering if their was some possibly escape. A singled cot attached to the wall, with no mattress. A blanket, a pillow. Useless. The cell door was a standard lock, but I didn't have anything to pick it with. The faun doing guard duty had the keys. At the walls were solid, which would provide a little privacy if I had miraculously come up with an idea.

No way out. I glanced at my watch, hoping the signal had worked. They had taken my knife, and pretty much everything else I was carrying. Jason had showed up and promptly been shown the Greek spy they captured, but luckily he had taken my cues and pretended not to know me.

The heavy prison door creaked open, and I heard a quiet voice. The faun grunted permission, and Percy himself walked into sight. I allowed myself a smile.

"You okay?" He asked quietly, his eyebrows scrunched together from worry.

"I'll be fine." I replied, keeping my voice down. "Do you believe me? What I said earlier?" He flushed a little.

"Yeah… I remember more, now." Percy confided. "It's like… a really hard test. You take it, do bad, then remember some of the right answers later." He glanced at the faun, then offered me Anaklusmos in pen form, being careful that the guard couldn't see it.

"You'll need it more than me." I refused it gently. "If you can get my cap, though, I'd really appreciate it. It was a—"

"Present from your mom on your twelfth birthday." Percy supplied. I nodded.

"Yeah." I said quietly. "I really don't want to lose it. And there's a small photo booklet, and my knife. If you can hold onto that stuff for me…"

"I'll get it." He agreed. "I can bring you the cap with breakfast."

"I'm not going to be here for breakfast." I told him. "Be ready... you miss it, and it's a three thousand mile drive back to New York." Percy started to ask a question, but stopped as if he had remembered something.

"Athena always has a plan, right?" He asked, a smile warming his face. I grinned back, the fear and anxiety leaving me.

"You know it, Seaweed Brain."


	8. Of Bows and Bullets

I apologize for the delay, folks. I've had some stuff of my own to deal with. But here's the next chapter, and I hope you'll all enjoy it. Remember to leave a review if you do. And hey...

**Merry Christmas**. I wish you all the best.

* * *

_There is nothing to fear, for I am right beside you. For all my life, I am yours._—"What About Now?"

"They're down." Will said quietly, his voice barely audible. "Move up." Two dark shapes emerged from the woods and through the gates, only briefly visible in the torchlight before they split off—one going right, the other heading left. A startle voice began to call out, only to be silenced by a _snap_ of suppressed gunfire.

"Sleeper, clean." Vincent muttered over the headset. 'Nappers' were knocked out enemies. 'Sleepers' were dead ones.

"Keep it under control." Will hissed. There was a brief silence.

"It was just a faun." Vincent replied, sounding amused. "Now it's a very nice shrub." Will felt a little disgusted. Ares was rumored to blanket his bed with the skin of men he had killed—his children weren't that bad, but they still took after him. Will moved quickly, moving along the perimeter wall until he found a suitable spot. A few moments later the charge was planted and he was moving on.

"I placed it." He whispered into the headset. A crackling voice replied quickly.

"All charges planted, then." Vincent said. "I think I know where Annabeth's being held. I'm moving in."

"No!" Will snapped. "Not alone!"

There was no reply.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**Vincent**_

I had already circled the building twice before letting Will know. There was only one way in, but it was clear that there was a lower level to the structure—cells. I checked my pistol, then on second thought, removed an extendable baton from my belt, a non-lethal replacement for a knife. Weapons ready, I casually strolled up to the front door of the impressive building.

_One, two, three—_I twisted the knob and slammed my shoulder into the wood. It flew in and I quickly followed, looking around rapidly. A startled demigod guard, maybe fifteen feet away, was halfway through drawing a sword.

"Drop your weapon!" I snarled, aiming my 1911 at his face. Frequently, a firm order given to a surprised target, backed up by a gun, will be obeyed.

This was not one of those cases. He finished drawing his sword, a Roman style _gladius, _and charged. Alarms sounded in my head. People think that a guy with a knife doesn't stand a chance against a guy with a gun—not quite true. With a few rapid chest shots, I could mortally wound him, but he'd still cut me in half before he went down.

So I didn't fire. He swung, bringing his blade down overhead. I met it with my baton in my left hand, then hammered him in the collar with the butt of my pistol before kneeing him in the gut.

He recoiled, but didn't go down. I dropped the pistol and tackled him, managing to disarm him of the sword and throw it away before he threw me back and smashed a fist into the center of my face. My vision blurred and something audibly broke, liquid pouring down onto my face. He broke off, going for his sword.

I got the baton back first. He grabbed the sword and spun around—then dropped to the floor from a solid blow to the side of his head. I shakily recovered my handgun, compacted the baton, replaced it on my belt, and gave the downed Roman a kick for good measure.

"That went well…" I found the door that led to the lower level and threw it open, pistol again ready.

A startled faun turned from his guardpost at the bottom of the stairs, reaching for a club.

"Halt!" He ordered._ Yeah right._ My pistol snapped twice, and the faun collapsed with .45acp bullet in his head.

"Anyone else?" I asked, spitting out the blood that dripped into my mouth. I saw six cells lined up in two rows of three, but I couldn't see into them from this angle.

"Just me." A feminine voice said. I walked down the stairs and into the aisle between the holding blocks. Annabeth was waiting expectantly, standing by the bars. "You alright?" She asked, looking a little worried. I wiped away another glob of blood with the back of my hand.

"Fine. Keys?"

"Check the guardpost." I found them, handed her the ring of six keys, then holstered my pistol and stuck two fingers up my nose. _Yeah, there's what I felt breaking._

"Thanks for coming." Annabeth swung the door open, having found the right key. I grunted, then slid the piece of broken cartilage back into place, trying not to curse too much from the pain.

"No problem." I managed, wiping the blood off on my pants. "Can you run?"

"I'm not hurt." Annabeth said. "Look, I found Percy. He remembers enough that he believes me."

"Good." I said flatly.

"He's in the Neptune cabin, let's go get him." She continued, going over to a set of evidence lockers by the guardpost. I shook my head and pressed the 'speak' button down on my headset.

"Will, I found Annabeth. She found Percy, he'll come with us. Go to the Neptune cabin and get him." I glanced at Annabeth. "Which one is the Neptune cabin?"

"It's center-right, with a trident carved on it." She said. I relayed that to Will.

"So I guess Jason didn't help you out much, did he?" I asked, taking my pistol back out of the holster, hoping my blood didn't smear the grip too much.

"I'm sorry." Annabeth said, looked ashamed. She pried another locker open, and found her gear. "I thought this would work." The holstered knife went back on her side.

"So much for diplomacy." I remarked. "It sure didn't help you."

"It's not wrecked until a demigod is killed." Annabeth insisted, putting her cap on and turning invisible. I didn't betray any surprise. "Chiron will still be able to make an alliance, once the _Argos II_ is finished. The Romans aren't insane, and they won't ignore the giants' rising."

"I'm sure." I said dryly to the empty room. "Now let's get out of here before someone shows up and cuts our heads off. We're meeting at the boat."

"No." Annabeth shook her head, footsteps moving towards the door. "Percy might not listen to Will. I'll go over there, get Seaweed Brain, and meet you back at the boat." I followed the sound of her footsteps back upstairs and into the main room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Yeah, sure, the one with the Trident,_ Will mused. _Try finding that in the pitch black_. He strained his eyes to make out the carved shapes, finally locating the correct one. He tested the handle gingerly—it wasn't locked, which surprised him for a moment. Then again, who would break into a cabin with such powerful demigods inside? _Only a crazy person,_ Will smirked to himself. He pushed the door open and left himself in. The air inside smelled oddly like seawater, and reminded him of the last time he had been to the beach, away from Camp Half-Blood.

"Percy." He risked a whisper. "Percy?" The sound of expanding metal on metal made him turn, an arrow nocked in his bow.

"Who are you?" Percy demanded, his face slightly illuminated by the glow of the celestial bronze blade in his hand.

"Your fairy godfather." Will snapped. "I'm about to make you an offer you can't refuse."

"What?" Percy faltered, baffled.

"I'm a friend of Annabeth Chase." Will explained, relaxing his weapon. "She sent me to pick you up."

"They captured her." Percy said immediately, concern in his voice. The sword lowered. "She's locked in the—"

"My friend already freed her." Will cut him off. "Do you want to come with us?"

"Yeah, I'm coming." Percy said. He retrieved something from a shelf, pausing to glance at another cot. Will followed his gaze. "My sister." Percy explained, sounding a little hesitant, maybe unsure.

"You can IM her." Will reasoned. "Now let's go." Percy nodded, and followed him outside the cabin.

"This is a problem." A voice growled over the headset, making him pause. "We're blown."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**Annabeth**_

I felt like crying again, even though this time I was invisible and all the weapons were pointed at someone else. One of the Romans—the only one without a bow in his hands—stepped forward, clapping sarcastically.

"Valiant attempt, my Greek friend." He said. "What was the problem? You couldn't find the key for her cell?" Vincent didn't reply. His face was set in a focused sort of scowl, and his pistol was aimed at the speaker's face. I carefully moved off to the side, flanking the group, trying to think of a plan that didn't involve demigods being killed.

"You were waiting for me." Vincent said flatly. I noticed his use of **me **over **us**. He was smart, even under pressure.

"Obviously." The Roman speaker said. "We knew she obviously wasn't alone, no matter what she claimed. Scouts never are alone. I imagine the rest of you aren't too far away."

"Cold." The Ares' fighter said. "I already eliminated two fauns. Was it worth it? Where I come from, sacrificing your own soldiers is never **plan B**, much less the plan A." He put emphasis on the words. The Roman shrugged.

"To capture another scout? It was a small price to—"

"To what?" I called in a low voice, now behind them. To their credit, only the speaker and one archer turned. The others were disciplined and kept their weapons trained on Vincent. "You haven't gained anything."

"Well well, another one of you." The Roman looked amused. "I'll give you five seconds to surrender before we kill your friend. Five—" I heard a faint hiss, like a dart being fired, and one of the Romans let out a strangled cry and fell, making the one of the archers watching Vincent turn, even as he dove out of the torchlight and fired, shooting one of them in the leg. Two more demigods appeared—Percy and Will, taking down the rest of the ambush squad.

"Stay quiet." Will ordered the Roman with the bleeding leg, a bow aimed at him. "Or your leg will be the least of your worries." To my mild surprise and extreme delight, Percy rushed over and hugged me.

"I told you to blow the charges!" Vincent hissed, limping out from his cover, an arrow in his chest. Will looked horrified.

"My gods…" I felt like puking. Vincent was probably dying, could this get any wors—he abruptly ripped the arrow out of his vest, the tip lacking any blood. He was wearing body armor, I realized, feeling like an idiot. Percy also looked relieved.

"We gotta go!" Will ordered, tossing smoke grenades down. We followed his lead and fled, with an angry Rome coming to life behind us.


	9. Cleaning Up

We're not done yet, so here's the next chapter. My thanks to the very few reviewers. I appreciate feedback very much... so, please leave a review!

By the way, I have decided to share something... you know the girl who plays Annabeth in the movie? There is a girl at the school I'm going to who looks EXACTLY like her. I don't know how to post pictures on this (I doubt I can) but if you want to see a side by side comparison, message me with your email address and I'll send it to you. Remember, you can't just list your email address normally, or it'll get blocked. You have to put spaces in.

* * *

"_Is there a hero somewhere, someone who appears and saves the day, someone who holds out a hand and turns back time?"_—"Locking Up the Sun. "

**Annabeth**

Running. It seems like I've been doing a lot of that lately... and now I was doing it again. Though I wouldn't call it that, not if I was back at camp. The children of Athena don't 'run**'.**

We make 'tactical withdrawals'.

"There!" Will hissed. Through the trees, I could see water glimmer in the moonlight, not too far off. Two hundred yards, maybe, and definitely below us.

Then something caught my foot and I plowed forward into the ground, my arms just stopping me from planting my face on a rock. The others paused, looking back immediately. Percy grabbed me by the upper arm and physically lifted me back onto my feet. I mumbled a thanks and we took off again, running as quickly as possible down the hillside.

"I see it!" Percy called. The boat was just visible, but it wasn't quite at shore.

"Piper! Start it up!" Will shouted, breaking our attempt at stealth. I couldn't see anyone, but the engine roared to life a second or two later. Will and Vincent charged ahead, and leaped aboard the craft, despite it being seven or eight feet from shore. Percy didn't look enthused, but followed suit. I jumped last—

and naturally, hit Percy like a bowling ball, knocking us both down and rocking the boat. Will was suddenly at the controls and Piper was helping me up, even as the boat started moving. Back in the woods, the search lights suddenly became coordinated as our pursuers all started running in the same direction—at us. The craft lurched into motion, moving down the inlet, but it was obvious we weren't moving fast enough, and in the dark, Will couldn't see well enough to risk speed. I faintly heard a familiar whistling sound, and an arrow splashed into the water. Another impaled itself in the deck, barely missing Percy.

"Take cover!" Will ordered. Excellent advice, except for the fact that the only cover was a flimsy cloth/plastic roof put up over part of the craft. Another burst of arrows came down, barely missing their targets. Percy pushed me down, then shielded me with himself. Piper ducked by controls, near Will.

Vincent, in a display of quick thinking and calm under pressure, yanked a handgun out and opened fire, probably scaring our pursuers and making them halt, buying us a little time.

I immediately wanted to throw him off the boat. I'm sure you've all seen action movies, where some hero pulls out a handgun and starts shooting quickly. The gun goes _bam_! _bam_! Afterwards, everyone talks in normal voices, despite not wearing hearing protection.

That is **such** a lie.

Imagine thunder going off three feet from you, sounding like the air itself has been ripped apart. Then add a flash of light with each shot, and a hot percussion wave, as a hot wave of air hits you in the face like a physical force hard enough to make you flinch unless you're got enough range time in. You don't really need to hit someone—just firing a weapon is an incredibly violent action. I slapped my hands over my ears, trying to keep myself from going deaf.

"Don't kill anyone them!" I had to almost shriek over the **BOOM**'s. Vincent fired a few more shots, but we were finally moving and putting some distance between us and our pursuers.

"I wasn't trying to kill them." Vincent snapped, lowering the weapon. Smoke was rising from the end of the barrel. "Suppressive fire to stop their archers."

"What happened back there?" Piper demanded of Will. "You said it would be fine!"

"We're all alive, and we've got Percy. It is fine." Will told her. "Nothing to worry about."

"He was shooting at them!" Piper said, as if Will hadn't noticed. "And what happened to Jason?"

"Jason is now back with his own camp, where he belongs." I explained. "They'll need their hero. And now we have our's back. Don't worry, you'll see Jason soon enough."

"Piper McLean, this is Percy Jackson." Will said. "Hero of Camp Half-Blood."

* * *

"What are we doing with the boat?" Will asked, looping the rope around a docking post. I shrugged, not caring.

"Doesn't matter. It only cost me a few drachmas, and we're done with it now." I said, shouldering my bag. Will's bow was now collapsed into an inconspicuous transport container. "Let's get to the airport."

"The airport?" Percy questioned. I froze for a moment. "I can't fly."

"It's a private plane." Piper told him. "You don't need id."

"He means because he's a son of Poseidon." Vincent guessed. "But the gods have fallen silent lately. Zeus probably isn't watching. Nor would he kill someone who he offered to make a god. I think."

"Zeus offered to turn Percy into god?" Piper asked, shocked.

"Yep. And Percy turned them down, to be with Annabeth." Will remarked. Percy flushed red, and Will smirked. "Cue some girl putting her hand over her heart and saying, 'O-h! That's sooo romantic!' "

"Well, it is!" Piper retorted.

I kicked a wood post. "We can't fly. Percy's right… we flew **here**, but we had Jason with us. A son of Zeus. Now we'd be flying **back** with a son of Poseidon. And he ticked off Zeus by turning down the offer."

"Look." Percy tried to be helpul. "I can get a cab or take the bus."

"Do we have enough money for him to?" Will asked. "I've got… thirty bucks." He glanced at Piper.

"About a hundred." She offered.

"Fifty." I checked my wallet, then looked at Vincent.

"Sorry. I left it my other pants." He retorted, holding a duffel bag full of weapons and ammunition and body armor.

"That won't be enough money." I groaned. "We might get as far as Vegas, but that's about it."

"Let's just fly." Vincent said, readjusting the weight of the bag. "We already paid. The gods have fallen silent, anyway."

"And if we're noticed, then lightening will strike us dead." I countered. Will shrugged.

"Yeah, but what are the odds of that?" He asked. "Besides, what else will we do if we want to get home quickly? Ask Chiron to wire us some money? The Labyrinth is gone."

"Los Vegas." Percy snapped his fingers. "Annabeth, what was that casino we stayed at?"

"When did _you two_ stay in Vegas?" Will asked enviously.

"Our first quest, to retrieve the lighting bolt." I explained. It hit me what he was thinking of. "Wait, Percy… lotus cards?"

"We'll have enough cash to get back to New York." He nodded. "The lotus card you took before, it had unlimited cash, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Piper wondered.

"Annabeth and I stayed at a casino in Los Vegas." Percy said. "It's free, and you get lotus cards… like debit cards, with an unlimited bank account. But there was something else…"

"It's the Lotus Hotel and Casino." I said. "The lair of the Lotus Eaters. They give you narcotics, and try to make you stay. When you're there, it's like time stops. You'll feel like you've been there a few days, but it's actually been years."

"I get that feeling every time I go to a firing range." Vincent commented wistfully. "There's this place by Atlanta that rents out full auto UMPs and Chicago typewriters…"

"No, it's not like that." Percy insisted. "She's serious. People, like, are frozen. They don't get older. We can go in, fifty by years go outside, but we'd all be the same age, look the same. The people, the staff, they want you to stay forever."

"Wow." Piper sounded impressed. "But they give out loaded debit cards?" I nodded.

"Seeing as we're low on cash, I'd say that's an easy decision." Will remarked.

"I knew this was great mission!" Vincent grinned. "I'll find a cab!"

"Wait!" I stopped him. "You pointed out, we already paid for the flight. Most of you might as well fly back home. Percy and I have dealt with the Lotus Eaters before, so we'll know what to expect—you guys wouldn't."

"The three of us fly home?" Piper asked. I nodded. The Aphrodite girl shrugged, looking at Percy and me. "Sounds fine. But you two… will you two be okay?" Percy's warm hand slipped into mine, and I gave a squeeze.

"We're going to be fine." He promised. I started grinning like an idiot.

"That's a fact, seaweed brain."


	10. Heading to Vegas

Anyway, new chapter, and my thanks to the reviewers**, ****WaffleGirlIsAwesome423, xmarkersarecoolx, livelife13, somebody615, **and **filmyfurry****.** Sorry for taking a while, but at least I'm writing on spring break.

So anyways, read, enjoy, and leave a review!

* * *

"_The life I think about, is so much better than this, I never thought I'd be stuck in this mess!"—_'We Are One'

The bus ride was oddly comforting, with her next to me. For one, I hate sitting around, I'd rather be moving. And no one really wants to be alone. Outside, the desert kept passing by at the same dreary pace.

"So… how much do you remember?" I jerked awake, snapping out of the road hypnosis. "Sorry," she added. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't sleeping." I protested, rubbing my eyes, turning to look at her. According to her and the other demigods we're a couple—and I did remember Annabeth enough to know it's truth—but I was still kind of amazed that a girl that beautiful would ever go out with me.

"You do need more sleep that most people." She looked like she was remembering something funny, and I saw a faint smile tug at her mouth. "It's from the Styx."

"Oh." I nodded. "Being invulnerable takes a lot of rest?"

"Yeah. You take naps a lot." Annabeth said. "So, back to the original question." I groan silently.

"I'm remembering more, but it's still not all there." I forced myself to admit honestly. "Parts here and there, but it's not a complete picture." Disappointment flashed across her face, but she hid it quickly and put a hand on my arm.

"It's alright Percy… it's not your fault. It's Hera's." She said. I saw resentment and hatred flare in her eyes briefly before fading back down. "I read before… retrograde amnesia heals, over time, and when you see familiar stuff. You'll probably remember a lot more when we get back to camp."

"Yeah." I didn't know, but I nodded anyway and tried to be positive. "And Annabeth…" I paused for a second. "Thanks, for coming after me. It means a lot." She smiled, genuinely, and reached over to hug me. It was a little awkward in the cramped space, but I managed to hug her back without doing anything too clumsy. I was tempted to kiss her, but given everything else going on I'm wasn't quite sure if it would appropriate, right then. So I didn't, not yet.

"You're worth it, you know." She whispered quietly, her mouth right by my ear. She pulled back and gave a small laugh. "Besides, you already did the same for me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I did faintly remember the place, once we finally arrived in Vegas and located the proper casino. Trying to find it reminded me of some video game where you're sent to some shop or whatever to get something vital, and of course it's impossible to find the place. Then you finally get there and it's closed, or you get in and the shopkeeper has what you need, but wants you to go do some stupid quest before

The glowing words, _You will never want to leave_ were still written above the door way, which I thought I remembered driving through. No… it wasn't me driving. Annabeth, maybe?

No…

"Grover." I wasn't sure why, but it felt right saying it.

"Yep, he'd probably wish he came along when he finds out where we stopped." Annabeth smirked a little. "He almost got married last time we were here. Sort of."

"I remember... kind of." I shrugged. "It's hazy."

"Yeah. Who knows what we were on?" Annabeth sighed, shaking her head. "It shouldn't be too hard. We go in, the greeter hands us a debit card, we leave."

"Was it that simple last time?" I wondered.

"We didn't know what the place was, last time." Annabeth said firmly. "Now we know, and we know to not eat the flowers." I felt my pocket. I still have the sword-pen she had given me. I glanced at her, and notice that her knife is modern steel, an American KA-BAR. It wouldn't disintegrate monsters on impact, but it would give them—or anything else—a serious wound.

"Do we want to get something to eat first?" I wondered hopefully, feeling dread as I stared at the lair's entrance. "Or sit down?" There was an inviting bench near a fountain and a mini-park maybe a hundred yards off.

"Sure." Annabeth agreed a bit quickly. She took my hand and we strolled over, suddenly just another couple in Vegas. We sat down, and she let go of my hand. I reluctantly did the same. I didn't remember her completely, but I just felt… _better_, talking to her or touching her, even holding hands. I glanced around our spot of Vegas, looking at signs and flags. A green one stuck out oddly…

_"Who died?" I asked, bizarrely feeling a surge of happiness._

_ "You did, you idiot!" Annabeth shouted. "Where were you?"_

"Green, with a trident." I said suddenly. Annabeth looked at me weirdly.

"What?" She asked, like she thought maybe I was crazy.

"You burned a shroud for me, before." I said slowly. "It was green, with a trident in the middle that was like metallic or something. It glittered."

"You're remembering." Annabeth smiled broadly. "That was during our quest in the Labyrinth. We got separated… telekhines, at Mt Saint Helen. But you made the volcano explode."

"And it took me a while to get back." I finished. "And everyone thought I was dead."

"Yeah." Annabeth got a little quiet. "I thought I…" she trailed off.

"You thought what?" I prodded. She shrugged, gave a sort of sad smile, the type people give with only their lips and not their eyes.

"I thought I was alone again." She admitted. She shifted awkwardly, suddenly vulnerable. "After Luke… after Luke betrayed me, you were all I had. And then you were gone suddenly, and I was alone." I didn't say anything, and she continued. "And then we defeated Kronos, and everything was perfect… suddenly you were gone, again."

"But you found me." I tried to inject some cheerfulness. "I'm back."

"Yeah… things are okay again, for now." She said, not as strongly as I would've liked.

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere." I reassured her. She gave this sort of 'can we drop this and pretend I'm fine?' smile. I didn't buy it for a second.

"I know." She said. "Let's get a lotus card and get back home." She started to get up and walk back toward the casino, but I caught her arm.

"I'm serious." I insisted, meeting her eyes. "I promise, I'll be around for you."

"No need to get all dramatic, Percy." She looked amused. "I'm fine. I'm bulletproof, kevlar." I shrugged, let it go, and we walked towards the casino, towards our ride home. A random memory popped into my head, something I had learned from an Ares camper or maybe at a gun store…

"You know, kevlar isn't **bulletproof**." I said mildly. "It's bullet **resistant**. If it gets shot more than a few times in the same area, the bullets punch through." She looked at me, a little surprised.

"Fair enough." She admitted, sounding worn. "Not all of us are invulnerable, Percy."

"No." I said gently. "But if you don't go it alone… you won't need to be."

"Heavy stuff, coming from an amnesiac Seaweed Brain." Annabeth was teasing, but I felt the change. Maybe I was being dramatic, but her eyes looked a little less stormy.

"I remember enough to know that it's you and me." I said, brazenly pulling her close and kissing her cheek. "And no matter what, Annabeth, it always will be."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The words glowed brightly above the doorway. _You Will Never Want To Leave,_ it promised.

We paused, and our eyes met for a moment, before we bravely pushed the doors open and walked inside—

only to get hit by some sort of scented spray, like walking into a cloud of flowery smelling laughing gas. I coughed a few times, the smell burning my nose and making me feel light-headed. Around me, the colors seemed to warp, become a blur. I looked at Annabeth, staying clearheaded for just long enough to realize what had happened.

_Oh man…_


	11. No time for Vacation

Thank you for the reviews, FilmFurry, PastDecembers, and C-Nuggets N.L…

I go back to December all the time…

Anyway, here's the next chapter, read and review and enjoy!

* * *

"We get sent back to camp and they get to go party at a casino." Vincent grumbled. "How fair is that? Annabeth gives me a measly three hundred to cover my gear, and then she gets some limitless debit card. I've even been practicing counting cards."

"Oh, cut them some slack." Piper sighed. "Besides, you couldn't get in without drawing attention."

"I could." Vincent argued. "Casinos don't have metal detectors. I bag the vest and the weapons, and I'm set. Besides, the vest was shot. I can salvage the back kevlar panel, but the rest is trash now."

"I think she meant the red on your face, and the swollen nose drawing attention, not your stuff." Will pointed out. "You didn't wash up yet, did you?"

"The pilot was giving you a weird look." Piper added. Vincent groaned, then drew a hand across his face. It came away with specks of dried blood. "Counting cards?" Piper suddenly added. "Isn't that a little complicated for you?" Vincent looked insulted. "I mean, I thought you have to be a math genius for that." Piper amended herself quickly.

"It's actually simpler than using firearms." Will inserted himself into the conversation before Vincent came up with a cutting response. "You don't add or subtract for each card's number. Cards under ten are assigned one value, cards worth ten and aces are assigned another. Really, it's easier than learning how to disassemble and reassemble a pistol with fifteen parts. Not to mention, every model firearm is different, not to mention all the types of ammunition you have to learn about." Piper looked mildly impressed.

"Still, it wouldn't work too well. Most major casinos in Vegas though use card shufflers, after every two or three hands, now." Piper said. "So counting cards is—"

"How'd it go?" All three spun around, to see a shimmering image in the Learjet cabin.

"Clarisse." Vincent said, standing up immediately. "Mission success, ma'am."

"I'm pleased to hear that." Another voice said. Clarisse moved over slightly, and Chiron became visible in the Iris-Message. "Where is Annabeth? The iris-message didn't go through when we asked for her."

"She and Percy did not want to risk flying back." Will informed them. "They didn't want to risk ticking off Mr. Z, by having Percy in his territory."

"So where are they?" Chiron asked, not sounding pleased.

"Heading to Los Vegas." Piper said. "Lotus Hotel and Casino, to get a debit card. Then they'll have enough money for a train ticket or whatever back."

"We should be landing in another two hours." Will said. "Oh, and Jason is back at his camp." No one wanted to mention the fight, or the killed fauns and wounded demigods left in their wake.

Annabeth could explain that.

"The Lotus Hotel and Casino?" Chiron asked. Will nodded. "That doesn't sound wise…"

"Do you want us to go get them?" Piper asked. Chiron hesitated.

"I'll get back to you, shortly," He said, waving his hand through the image and cutting the connection.

**Percy**

I started laughing like an idiot. Annabeth was trying to stay serious, I could tell, but she was grinning. I wasn't worried, now. Nothing was worrisome at the moment. We were on vacation, after all!

"They changed things." Annabeth managed to say, smiling broadly now. I laughed some more. "A spray when you walk in… not a flower you eat…" Annabeth tried to scowl, to stay focused, and it seemed utterly hilarious. I took a few more slow steps into the casino, and a greeter approached me.

"Welcome to the Lotus Hotel and Casino." He said cheerfully, wearing a sort of uniform, except it would have doubled as a tourist outfit, thanks to the Hawaiian shirt with Lotus designs on it. "Here's your keycards." I don't remember taking anything, but it was suddenly in my pocket. "It's room 3908, one of the honeymoon suites. Enjoy your stay!"

"Wait." Annabeth said faintly, like she was trying to remember. "Aren't you suppose to give us… something else?"

"Everything you'll be needing is in a welcome packet in your room." The man said, laughing. "Don't worry. There's no bill, no charges, no tips needed." With that, he headed off and vanished, leaving us standing in the lobby.

"Come'on." I grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the elevators. "Let's check out the room!"

"Percy…" She resisted. "We're not here for fun."

"What?" I asked, momentarily baffled. "It's a casino, you're _supposed_ to have fun!" The elevator dinged open, and she let me pull her in.

"Why did we come here?" Annabeth seemed dazed. I felt a tinge of worry, but it faded away as quickly as it came. Why was she so out of it? We were supposed to be enjoying ourselves.

"We escaped the Romans, we deserve a vacation." I told her, putting an arm around her waist and kissing her. She felt rigid in my arms for a for a moment, but she didn't pull away, and then she was pressing herself against me, angling her mouth against mine—

and of course, the elevator stopped, the doors opened, and someone was waiting to get in. We got out, and Annabeth tugged me to the left.

"Here we are." She was giggling as she swiped the keycard. "3908." We entered, into a luxurious suite. It wasn't a hotel room…it was half a floor. We could've had the Hermes and Athena cabin over for a party, and it wouldn't have been too crowded.

And it was just Annabeth and me. She glanced around, went over to one of the leather sofas, and gave me a coy smile. I grinned and took a few steps towards her…

then something caught my eye on the counter of the mini-bar, and I took a look. There was a large manila envelope, like the type you'd seal and use to ship through fedex. Annabeth looked irritated, but I opened it and dumped the contents out. There was a map of the casino, some sort of flyer for it, and two lotus-cash cards. I didn't know why, but part of me said they were important.

"What is it?" Annabeth asked, now right next to me. I held them up for her to see, expecting her to say something smart, to remind me of something…

She snatched the cards and backed off, smiling and laughing. "You want these? Come get them."

I was happy to oblige.


	12. Almost Over

_ "Think positive. Tomorrow you're off to camp! After orientation, you've got your date—"_

_ "It's not a date!" I protested. "It's just Annabeth, Mom. Jeez!" _

_ "She's coming all the way from camp to meet you."_

_ "Well, yeah."_

_ "You're going to the movies."_

_ "Yeah."_

_ "Just the two of you."_

_ "Mom!"_

_ She held up her hands in surrender, but I could see she was trying hard not to smile._

—The Battle of the Labyrinth

"Look, we might need a flight back to Las Vegas. So wait around for a few hours, alright?" Piper asked. "We should know soon where we're supposed to go.." The pilot looked exasperated

"FAA requirements won't let me fly again that far until I'm rested." He countered. "You'll need to find someone else." Piper sighed. O'Hara was a major airport, but finding a charter plane wasn't as simple as calling a cab. She wondered how long he'd stay if she charm-speaked him. Vincent was resting a hand on a pistol, as if he was about to threaten the pilot.

Will just handed the him two drachmas. The pilot accepted them, curious.

"What are these supposed to be?" He asked, flipping the coins over. "Greek currency? Artifacts?"

"Gold." Will said politely. "Each coin is 1.5 ounces of nearly pure gold, and gold currently sells for over fourteen thousand dollars an ounce, melt value alone." The pilot considered that for a moment.

"I'll be here until midnight." He said cheerfully. "Refueling should be done soon."

**Percy **

"So, what do you want to do?" I flashed a grin. "There's a menu over at the table. We could order room service."

"They've also got a four-star restaurant downstairs." Annabeth suggested idly, hugging one of the remarkably fluffy cushions that adorned the bed. "Or get something at the club."

"You've sure got a lot of energy." I observed. "I'm wiped."

"Order an expresso, that'll help." Annabeth admired the view from the window, looking out over Vegas. "Don't you wish we had more times like this? Just get away from the worries, the monsters, everything. No quest, nothing trying to kill us…"

"The quest…" Something dawned on me. "We were supposed to get back. To camp." I vaguely recalled the fact, but it didn't seem important. Like, remembering that you forgot your bowl of cereal on the counter when you left for school. Annabeth sighed, tossing the cushion away and getting off the bed, which I noticed had a black quilt on top with red sheets underneath.

"We've only been here for like, two hours." She objected. "We've got another few weeks before the camp is ready for the next step. Even then, who knows how long before we set out for Greece."

"Will explained a little…" I remembered dimly. It seemed like weeks earlier. "Back at the camp."

"Let's forget about the doom and gloom, at least for a day." Annabeth implored me. "You've been gone for months. It's been… it's been hard, for me."

"Hey, it wasn't exactly easy for me, either!" I countered, smiling in relief at the memory, in relief that it was over. "I didn't remember anything, surrounded by a bunch of disciplinarian jerks... it was like I joined the Marines or something."

"But you survived." Annabeth put an arm around my neck and kissed me. I welcomed it. "And now we get at least **some** reward, some fun time."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

"We can't raise Percy or Annabeth on IM." Chiron said, worried. He stamped a hoof. "There's something about the casino that blocks the messages… I want you to go find them and bring them back."

"Mission perimeters?" Vincent question.

"The same as usual." Chiron replied. "Mortals are not to be harmed unless absolutely necessary. Anything else… use your own judgement. Try to keep it quiet."

"That means no explosives." Will said pointedly, looking at Vincent.

"I can wire you funds, if needed." Chiron added. Piper shook her head.

"We're fine. We'll IM you as soon as we find them." The daughter of Aphrodite said. "We should be back at camp by tomorrow night."

"Be careful." Chiron directed.

"Understood." Will nodded. Chiron waved his hand, and the image dissolved.

_Percy_

"We. Are. Amazing." I proclaimed, flipping the bills against my thumb. "Fifteen thousand dollars. In two hours!" My gloating ceased only as I took another bite out of my hamburger. Around us, people and families were happily chatting and eating. The restaurant was... lavish, to say the least It reminded me of movies where the main characters are ultra rich CEO's or whatever. There was a sort of chandelier low over each table, which had a white tablecloth and plush red chairs, and the people started off with some appetizer, which costs around thirty dollars a person.

It was just like that. Of course, I had declined the steak and gone with a burger. A burger fit for Harrison Ford or Hugh Jackman, mind you.

"We can't deposit it in a bank." Annabeth commented, twirling the spoon in her strawberry smoothie. "Then you have to deal with IRS hassles… gotta be careful flying, too… ticket agents will call police if they see that, then you'll be faced with money laundering charges or asset forfeiture."

"Don't be so happy, people will think you're weird." I muttered.

"I am happy," Annabeth countered, smiling widely. "I just consider the details."

"Maybe I'm forgetting business classes or something, but how do you

know this stuff?" I wondered. "I feel like I'm talking to a lawyer."

"I read." Annabeth shrugged. A smirk played on her lips. "Now, if you're done playing with the money, we could finish lunch and try out wall climbing. Or maybe just head to the club." I handed her the cash, and she slipped it into a pocket.

"More lotus flowers?" A waitress asked, holding out a dish towards us. I absent-mindedly reached out and took one, setting it down next to my iced tea. Annabeth moved to take a bite out of hers—

And suddenly leaped back, throwing the flower away, shrieking and almost knocking the table over. I almost fell over in surprise, but managed to stand before my chair hit the ground.

"What?" I shouted, not seeing anything. She backed away from the table, a knife suddenly in her hand, looking as if she saw a cobra on the table.

"There was a, a, a spider." Annabeth said shakily. "It was on the flower. A brown recluse."

"I don't see anything." I surveyed the wreckage of the tabletop.

"Everything alright?" A waitress hurried over, a security guard a short distance behind her.

"There was a spider on the table." I explained, half-embarrassed and half-sorry for Annabeth. "She's got arachnophobia."

"It's not a _phobia_!" Annabeth protested. "If there's one of those little monsters within a mile, it'll come after me."

"I'm terribly sorry." The waitress apologized. "Here, allow me to put you at a new table, and I'll get your order in just a moment. Would you like some lotus flowers while you wait?"

"No!" Annabeth said suddenly, almost alarmed. Then she went back to her normal voice, or almost normal anway. "I mean, no thank you. I'm sorry about the mess. I think my boyfriend and I will just head back to our room." I moved to grab the rest of my burger and Annabeth yanked me, hard.

"_Come on_, Percy." She said. I complied, and we headed back towards the lobby of the casino. It faintly dawned on me that despite her screaming in a classy restaurant, no one but the waitress had seemed to notice… everyone else was too absorbed to care, to even look over.

"We, we have to get out of here," Annabeth said quietly, like someone might be crouched behind us.

"What? We just got here this morning." I said, disappointed cresting through me. "How often do we get vacations?"

"We can go on a vacation somewhere else, Percy." Annabeth steered us past some poker tables, looking around like she was formulating a plan, or looking for something. "Right now we need to get back to camp."

"I thought that could wait." I remembered what she said earlier. It seemed like were going in circles, and I wanted to stop and try the slots, or maybe some roulette.

"I was wrong." She was speaking in a controlled patient-but-urgent voice. "Oh, and Percy?" She stopped and pulled me closer, turning me to face her. She pulled me closer, until our noses were almost touching.

"Mhmm?" I asked, suddenly reminded for the thousandth time how amazing her eyes were.

"Don't take this personal." She whispered… then shoved me backwards. My legs were caught by something and I fell, splashing into a fountain I hadn't noticed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Annabeth_

I felt bad, doing that. No, honestly, I did. I love Percy and don't like messing with him like that, but desperate times call for desperate measures. A brief illusion of a spider on the lotus flower—probably something I could thank my mother for—had woken me up…

And when Percy regained his feet, perplexingly dry as ever, I saw that the water had done the same for him. His eyes were clear and sharp.

"Behind us!" He warned. I turned.

Three big guys in identical suits were coming towards us. Percy jumped out of the fountain and we took off. The guys were fast, good runners, but we were demigods, and very athletic ones at that. And lastly, we had fear.

When you're running, fear gives you _wings. _We charged through the maze of tables and people and neared the exit—

Only to see five guards standing there like a wall of black and white.

"The game room!" Percy yelled, turning quickly and running back.

"The skeet shooting?" I questioned, remembering the shotguns there.

"Water slides!" He shot back. Several water slides snaked around the room, one looped around the elevator. We tore past every type of game imagniable, and I admit, I felt a tiny urge to stop when I saw a 3d Architect game. The kid playing it was terrible, and his city looked like something that should have been made out of legos—

"Almost there!" Percy yelled, grabbing my hand and almost yanking me off my feet. Ahead of us, I saw a ending pool half full of water, the type they use to stop you at the end of a slide.

Behind us, half a dozen guards materialized from around arcade games, flat screen tvs, and a shooting gallery. I drew my knife warily.

"Can you do it?" I asked him, hoping we wouldn't have to carve our way through these people.

"I sure hope so." Percy closed his eyes, focusing...

The guards didn't even bother to stop and look at each other before charging at us.

"Percy!" I yelped. He raises his hands and hundreds of gallons of water rose up behind us, shooting out of the slides and the pool and blasting the guards away, along with tables and slot machines.

"Let's go." He managed, holding his stomach. "Before more of them show up."

Two minutes later, we were safely outside. I was relieved to notice that it was only evening-we hadn't wasted that much time there.

"Annabeth!" A voice behind me shouted. I spun. It was an IM, showing Will Solace. I wondered idly if he hadn't been clean shaven last time I saw him. Now he was well on his way to having a beard.

"Will!" I greeted, trying to sound like everything was going fine. Percy joined me. "Are you back at camp yet?"

"Back at camp?" Another face appeared, pushing Will aside. It was Piper. "Chiron sent us to find you, but no here has heard of the Lotus Hotel and Casino! We've been here for two weeks, looking for you!"

There went our lucky streak.

"Two weeks?" Percy repeated. "It felt like a day!"

"Believe me, it's been two weeks. We paid Iris ten drachmas to keep trying and connect us as soon as you were available." Will glowered at us. "Look, why don't **you** guys meet **us** this time. We'll all board a train,** together,** and go home. We're at the Las Vegas International Convention Center." He waved a hand through the transmission, cutting it.

"He's ticked." Percy observed.

"Thank you, Seaweed Brain, I didn't notice that." I muttered, heading towards the street. "Taxi!" Miraculously, I caught one.

"The Convention Center." I ordered.

"Got it." The driver said absently. We pulled away from the sidewalk and into traffic.

"I've still got my lotus card." Percy realized, sounding pleased. I remembered something and removed a thick wad of hundred dollar bills from my pocket. Despite the problems we'd had, I grinned.

"And I've still got our winnings."

* * *

My thanks to reviewers, Eleos, **past decembers, Red-Cherry-Flowers**, xx Annabella Princess xx, Alisha, **C-Nuggets N.L** , and last but not least (Actually First) **Filmfurry. **


	13. Home

"_Can we make this something good? 'Cause it's all misunderstood. Well, I'll try to do it right this time around—let's start over!"—_"It's Not Over"

_Percy_

"What have you two been doing?" Vincent growled. "Do you know how huge Vegas is? First day we tried asking around. Second day they—" He jerked his head at Will and Piper "went out searching on foot while I got stuck analyzing satellite footage, looking for buildings big enough to be casinos that weren't listed online!"

"I'm sorry, okay?" I protested weakly, a tiny bit afraid. I had seen Clarisse when she was angry, and she didn't carry handguns. Overhead, the Vegas sun was beating down on us, and somehow made Will and Vincent look like haggard mafia.

"It has been two **weeks**." Piper commented icily. "We sold almost all our drachmas to coin shops to finance ourselves."

"Now that we're all finally together, let's get on a train and go home." Will Solace was barely keeping some forced politeness, like a clerk that has shown your mom too many new sets of shoes the night before school starts.

"We'll do that." Annabeth said firmly, taking control of the situation. "I appreciate all your hard work. And with this lotus cash card, you'll all be able to get whatever souvenirs you'd like before we head home." She twirled the card in her fingers, glancing at each of the three in turn. "I'm sure you can all think of stuff to pick up in Vegas that you could use. Or hey, convert it to cash by buying some Omega watches, if you like. And Piper, Vegas has some amazing stores, for high rollers and people who too much money on hand." She glanced at Vincent. "There are some good gun suppliers around here. I know the parts for customizing weapons are pricey, if you want quality. Or maybe you'd prefer some night vision scopes?"

"You think you can just… **bribe** us, after all the trouble you've put us through?" Vincent snapped.

_Four hours later…_

"Nice save." I leaned back onto the comfy seat, looking around the private cabin.

"They deserved it, really." Annabeth replied quietly, squeezing my hand lightly. "They helped me get you back… this was the least I could do for them."

"To think, we did all our quests for free," I joked. "You just paid each of them thousands of dollars in shopping sprees… they'll be spoiled."

"We're going to have a problem when we get back." Annabeth cautioned me, suddenly turning serious. "This mission was supposed to be covert. The Romans were never supposed to know we were there. Chiron will be pretty upset."

"He'll be happy we're alive, at least." I offered. "It will be hard when he has to deal with Lupa, though…"

"That wolf?" Annabeth wondered. "I saw it." I nodded.

"The same wolf that found Romulus and Remus and raised them," I explained. "A she-wolf. She's like a psycho drill sergeant or something, compared to Chiron. Super strict, and expects everyone to do whatever she wants them to do, exactly when."

"She's not that tough, if she didn't anticipate us, didn't sense us or anything." Annabeth remarked. "I was in the dining hall, heard her speak." Annabeth made little air quotation marks when she said 'heard.' "Not a god, by far."

"No." I agreed. "Pretty much a mythical creature, though. Like a centaur, or cyclops. But she might try to demand you and the others be turned over for flogging or something crazy like that." Annabeth's mouth twisted into a scowl. "Not that I'd let that happen." I added. "It just seems like a crazy thing she'd do."

"She'll have to work with us." Annabeth said flatly. "There's no choice."

"The giants." I recalled what they had told me. "Sounds like a lot has happened since I've been gone."

"Yep." Annabeth muttered, leaning against me, closing her eyes. "Too much."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Amazingly, nothing happened on our way back. Surprising, I know. I kept expecting a metallic lion or snake ladies to raid train, or maybe a hungry cyclops, but it was peaceable, through the long ride, the stopovers, and all the way to New York City.

"Good to be back." Annabeth said, looking around the city.

"Definitely." Will agreed, moving to hail a cab. "I'll finally get to crash in my own bunk. Taxi!" A yellow minivan stopped.

"Come on, Percy." Annabeth tugged at my hand. I snapped back to reality, done with staring at the slightly familiar city. Annabeth and I took the middle row of seats. Will, Piper, and Vincent were in the back, cramped with their luggage, both what they had brought and everything they had bought with the Lotus card.

"Delphi Strawberry Farm." One of the guys in the back ordered.

"Got it." The driver pulled away from the curb and into traffic.

We were off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Annabeth_

"Thalia's tree—where she almost died holding off the monsters, so her father had pity and turned her into a tree." I nodded towards the huge pine tree on the top of the hill, making sure Percy remembered everything. "And the golden fleece, guarded by a dragon."

"Thalia's not dead, though." Percy remembered. "She was there, when we fought in New York…"

"Yeah, though her hunters took heavy causalities." Vincent remarked, trudging up beside us. "Combat effectiveness was high, though."

"That's not much comfort for the girls who got killed." Will said. He made a cheesy smile. "Hey, you're dead and stuck here in the Underworld, but at least you sent a bunch of monsters to Tartarus first!"

"It'd be a comfort to me." Vincent muttered.

"Oh, and we've got a twenty-four hour watch on the borders now." I told Percy, recalling he wouldn't know that. "After you vanished, it was put in place. Snipers from Ares cabin and bowmen from Apollo."

"How do they keep watch at night?" Piper wondered.

"Night vision goggles and scopes." Vincent said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Think they'll throw us a party?" Will interrupted, grinning, happy to be back. "Piper, Vincent, with me!" He bolted towards the top of the hill, the two others lagging behind.

"Gotta show off," I laughed, putting an arm around Percy. "Look, Percy, everyone here knows what happened to Jason, so they won't expect you to remember everything."

"I'm okay. I mean, I remember a good amount. Should be fine." Percy looked a little nervous, returning my gesture by hugging me to his side. Will was shouting from the top of the hill, and most of camp could probably hear him.

"…we brought him back! Our hero has returned!" Will hollered. "The dynamic duo is back together!"

"The dynamic duo?" I heard Piper cut him off. "Batman and Robin were both _guys_, genius."

"Our champions have been reunited, and the savior of Olympus is with us again!" Will was pretending he didn't hear Piper. Percy and I reached the top of the hill overlooking camp.

"I do remember this." Percy said, eyes wide, taking it all in. "It… it just feels like something, like, out of a dream." Below us, campers were swarming out of buildings and abandoning the sword pit and volleyball nets. I could hear shouting and voices.

"Percy!" Was the one word I made out over and over. Chiron himself came galloping up towards us, looking half relieved and half overjoyed.

"My dear boy, it warms my heart to see you well." Chiron put a hand on his shoulder. "Your return is most welcome, I daresay."

"It's good to be home." Percy managed amid the swarm. I saw most of the familiar faces, and even most of the frazzled Cabin Nine came out, along with Nyssa and Leo. The Stoll brothers drifted a little too close, and I casually-as-possible unstrapped my Ka-Bar knife, hopefully sending the subtle message that I would gut them if they decided to pickpocket us.

"You're back!" Malcolm appeared out of the crowd and wrapped me in a hug, wearing one of his favorite red shirts. "I thought you were a goner!" I hugged my half-brother back as best I could with a sheathed knife in one hand.

"Nah, we're good." I was grinning. "I got him back, Mal."

"So I see! Percy, how are you?" He gave my boyfriend a weak 'guy-hug' and I rolled my eyes.

"Great, now that I'm back!" If Percy didn't remember Mal, he did a good job of hiding it. "Athena keep everything safe while I was out?"

"Yep, though Blackjack was pretty antsy with you gone." Mal returned, slapping him on the arm. "Good to have you back."

"Indeed, but I would like to see all five of you in the Big House, immediately." Chiron directed. "Everyone else, take the rest of the day off! Celebrate!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**Percy**_

"I thought this was going to be neater, Annabeth." Chiron finally spoke after the debriefing was over. "That's why I approved the mission before the _Argos II _was finished."

"So did I. But things happened, and the plan was altered." Annabeth said formally.

"Quicksilver nature of war." Vincent remarked idly, using a cotton swab to wipe a faint smudge off his ever-present handgun. "No plan survives first contact with the enemy. The only question is: who is better at improvising?" I suddenly liked him a tiny bit more, seeing him defend Annabeth in his own way.

"I wasn't asking you." Chiron said flatly. "And the Romans aren't our enemy. Or, weren't_._"

"Impossible to say." Will commented. "Besides, these aren't a diplomatic people. This first contact decided our relationship. We got Percy back, killed a few fauns, and escaped, even though Mercury fighters were waiting. That gives us the upper hand, makes us equals or superiors."

"Lupa will demand concessions, try to exact some form of retribution." Chiron unhappily. "We do have to work alongside these people."

"We give in, go with what they say—and they own us." The words escaped my mouth before I realized I was talking. "Greece was taken over by Rome, right? They're going to think they're better than us from the second we meet, because we're Greek and they're Roman. Let's offer single combat to settle the dispute."

"Wouldn't that be cheating, since you have the Curse of Achilles?" Piper wondered.

"Not really." Annabeth said darkly. "Achilles was still killed by Paris, despite being mostly invincible. And even if you win and don't have to kill Jason, that still disgraces him in his camp, lowers their morale." She looked at me. _Don't do it,_ she pleaded without saying anything. I squeezed her hand.

_Don't worry,_ I tried to comfort her. Chiron was quiet.

"But Paris's arrow was guided by Apollo, because Achilles desecrated his temple. Percy's friends with Apollo, he rescued Artemis. So we don't have to worry about that." Will said, as the only Apollo demigod present.

"It's a mess either way." Vincent growled, rubbing his forehead. "My God, we're trained as fighters, not diplomats. Where's a political science professor when you need one?"

"I'll fix it." Piper suddenly spoke up. "I can do it." She looked around when we fell silent.

"You sound sure." I said. "Have you, ah, done this kind of thing before?"

"Not really," Piper admitted. "But I know I can do it… my mother told me I would be key in making peace, when the two sides met."

"There we go, then." Will stood up. "She'll charmspeak 'em, use her feminine wiles."

"Feminine wiles?" Annabeth repeated archly. Will nodded.

"Volleyball summit." He joked. "Piper, in a bikini? No man could refuse negotiations like that."

"It won't be that easy. These are _Romans_ we're talking about—brutal people." I said. "We're going to have to be intimidating. Like, so tough that fighting wouldn't be a good idea… shock and awe."

"If these people are anything like the original Romans, that's the only chance." Annabeth agreed. "They conquered the known _world_ back in their day, because they were disciplined and ruthless."

"We could bring a nuke." Vincent suggested. He looked up a few moments later to see everyone staring at him. "Hey, only a small one. Five, maybe ten megatons."

"Yeah… let's not." Annabeth said, managing an even tone.

"The Ares cabin has **nukes**?" Chiron asked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Remember this place?" Annabeth teased, a few steps behind me as I entered the Poseidon cabin.

"Actually, yeah." I smiled. "Not even dusty."

"We kept it clean while you were away." Annabeth commented, sitting down on an unused bed. "I knew you'd be back."

"_Knew?_ Not, _hoped_?" I wondered, looking through a dresser. I was gratified to see my wallet, safe and sound.

"Knew." Annabeth confirmed. "The Fates aren't that cruel. I wouldn't have anything left, if you were gone." She abruptly snapped her fingers and took a wad of cash out. "And here, your share of the winnings." She looked at the bulky safe along the wall. "Remember the combination? You've got important stuff in it."

"If not, I'm sure Tyson could open it." I took a closer look at it. The dial was a classic bank safe look. I moved the it around a few times, hoping it would magically open, and that if it did, Annabeth would remember what combination I had used to do it.

Nothing.

"Try again." Annabeth suggested. There was an odd look in her eyes, a sort of nervous excitement. "Believe me, it'll be worth it." I sighed, and flipped through the stack of hundred dollar bills in my hand. It was pleasantly thick. I couldn't remember ever holding that much money before.

"Wouldn't I have told you the combination?" I asked, trying to remember any numbers that felt different, special. I rotated the dial again, stopping when I heard a tiny click. The wheel still wouldn't turn, though.

"You got part of it." Annabeth was smiling. "Come on Seaweed Brain, you can do the rest. Just relax, try to remember." I laughed and closed my eyes, slowly turning the dial around, then spinning it the other way on impulse.

_Click._ I opened my eyes and tried the wheel again, not expecting it to work.

It turned, naturally. I opened the heavy door.

Inside was the minotaur horn, a photo album, some drachmas… and a shiny metal lockbox, which thankfully was not locked. I put it on my bed and undid the latch.

"How did I get these?" I asked, unable to take my eyes off the two golden apples.

"You never explained, completely." Annabeth was suddenly sitting beside me. "You showed me these the night before you vanished." The smell of the apples was amazing. I felt… I felt more alert, more focused. My vision was even more clear.

And I was unbelievably famished.

"I remember." I picked up one, pressed slightly. It felt fresh, and I stood up, started pacing the cabin slowly, staring at it.. I wondered if golden apples had an expiration date. _That'd be ironic. _It was surprisingly heavy, even for an apple the size of a melon. Annabeth was watching me closely, her eyes glittering. "You change your mind since last time I asked?" I teased.

"Not funny." She said, a little quietly. "Most of the camp thought you were dead. Six months, you were gone… after the first week, I was sick, from the stress and staying up three days straight. A week later I woke up after a nap with two teeth chipped, because I had been grinding my teeth in my sleep." I tossed the apple down on an empty bed and hugged Annabeth.

"Hey, I love you." I said, wrapping my arms around her, my temple bumping slightly against hers. "You know that, right?"

"Of course I know." Annabeth managed to sound exasperated and touched at the same time. "I love you too, Seaweed Brain. I just don't want us to be a tragic love story." I remembered something another woman had said to me, in a car somewhere. Had it been Annabeth? No, it just looked like her…

"_It's been ages since we've had a tragic love story!" _She had said.

I hated tragedy. All of it. And it happened a lot to tough guys. Jason Bourne, his girlfriend got shot in the head. Wolverine beat Deadpool, and almost escaped with his girlfriend, but then got shot right as they were walking off into the sunset. _Not very Greek examples_, I mused, chuckling to myself.

"What?" Annabeth smiled faintly. "What're you thinking?"

"I'm thinking, is that knife of yours clean enough to eat fruit off of?" I teased. "I don't have any silverware in my cabin."


	14. Living in the Moment

Oh, and here is a link to that photo I mentioned, a classmate who looked like a double to Alexandra Daddario, the girl who played Annabeth in the Percy Jackson film. Don't worry, it's not a virus, just a link to my photobucket account.

i78 . photobucket . com/ albums / j98 / AWB_2006/ twinsalmost. jpg

Just remove the spaces.

Also, thank you, dear reviewers who reviewed that last chapter, **StoleYourBlueMoonIceCream, C-Nuggets N.L, Deviant1 UK, yfit, past Decembers, readingrox101, **and last but not least,** filmyfurry. **I greatly appreciate all reviews, and rest assured, I see and read each one.

Oh, and if you like this chapter, when you're done reading, leave a review! :)

* * *

_Percy _

I remembered everything. Not just the foggy stuff, I remembered _everything._ Like life was a film, and I could mentally rewind it and pause. I could remember that night I offered Annabeth the apples, I remembered the blinding light when Hera kidnapped me… all of it. It's an amazing feeling, to go to sleep partially amnesiac after eating a golden apple, and wake up remembering everything.

Other than that, I was perfect. No morning soreness, tiredness, no urge to stay in bed, just a dry feeling in my throat. I found some fruit juice in the minifridge and poured myself a tall glass, downing it quickly before slowly lying back down and pulling the covers up. I was careful, but she woke up anyway.

I smiled instinctively when I saw her roll over.

"How do you feel?" I asked, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek.

"Wonderful." She grinned, leaning over and kissing me back. "You don't even have morning breath." I didn't correct her.

"We'll have to send a thank you to Z, tell him he gives good presents." I joked. "I didn't think it would be that great."

"One step below invincible." Annabeth murmured. "I wish I had done this first time you offered."

"I remember it, now." I said quietly. "I remember all of it. Everything that's ever happened to me." Annabeth grinned and hugged me.

"I can to." She sounded amazed. "Little details, tiny things… it's easy."

"The apples." I decided. "They must make your memory perfect, too."

"No kidding, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth laughed. She sobered when she noticed the time on my bedside clock. "Uhh… Chiron won't be happy we're breaking rules. I didn't mean to fall asleep here."

"He won't mention it." I assured her. "With Mr. D. away, he'll just be glad we're alive."

"Maybe he won't, but my siblings will." Annabeth moaned, getting up.

"Going to tell them you're immortal now?" I asked curiously, remembering the taste of the apple.

"Chiron yes, everyone else, no." Annabeth found her socks under my bed. "That is, if you're telling him."

"I think we should." I agreed, browsing through my dresser, knowing exactly what was in each and every drawer. "He kind of deserves to know."

"We should get together with him and a few of my siblings later today, decide on a team." Annabeth changed the topic. "You know, for when the _Argos II _is ready."

"Better idea. Let's skip camp, go see a movie, eat in fancy restaurants, all that stuff." I proposed. "And I need to go see my Mom, let her know I'm not dead." Annabeth smiled faintly.

* * *

_Tell Chiron_. That wasn't quite necessary.

"_Di Immortales!_" Chiron uttered as soon as he got near me. Several other campers turned, and he quickly recovered. "It is truly wonderful to have you back, Percy." He patted me on the shoulder, acting fairly normal. For a centaur. The other campers went back to their meals, and he leaned down to whisper in my ear. "You and Annabeth the Big House, ten minutes after the meal's over." He trotted off. I sighed and poked at my fruit and whole wheat raisin bran, wishing for something sugary.

I loitered around near the front of the Big House until I saw Annabeth coming near.

"You too?" She asked. I nodded, and we kinda fell into step, like two pieces of a puzzle clinking together.

Or two soldiers on their way to be executed.

"Chiron." I greeted him, carefully clicking the door shut behind us. He turned away from the fireplace, now in his wheelchair, looking like a grave old professor.

"Apples of Immortality." He stated. I nodded. "You stole two apples, and ate them."

"What's the point of stealing them if you don't eat it yourself?" I wondered. Annabeth smirked at my comment.

"Considering that Zeus and Hera are already not on good terms with you, did you consider that stealing apples might _shorten_ your life instead of prolonging it?" Chiron inquired.

"How exactly could you tell?" Annabeth interrupted. "I didn't do anything differently, and we look just the same."

"Trust me, it's easy to recognize if you know what it is." Chiron shook his head. "I do trust that you will refrain from informing others about this?"

"Oh, yeah." I agreed quickly. Annabeth nodded. Chiron looked like he wanted to start lecturing us, but he changed his mind.

"Have you two decided on the team you'll be taking with on the _Argos II_?" He asked. "Leo Valdez estimates it will be finished in four days." We hadn't, but Annabeth probably had given it thought. She replied easily enough.

"Leo and a few of his siblings, as crew." Annabeth started. "Five of my siblings. Piper McLean and one other Aphrodite girl, as negotiators."

"At least eight Ares fighters." I joined in. "And six or seven Apollo archers."

"We can't risk the Romans being bold enough to try to take us prisoner." Annabeth picked up. "I spoke with Vincent, in Ares. They've got flash grenades and tear gas, if we need less than lethal force. If lethal… well, they're covered there too, assault rifles and 40mm grenade launchers. Apollo has sonic arrows, great for crowd control."

"I was afraid of this…" Chiron muttered. "You're supposed to form an alliance, but you're preparing to kill them. Exactly why the gods separated the two camps in the first place... to much bloodshed."

"_Sic vis pacum parrabellum._" Annabeth said in Latin. "If you want peace, prepare for war."

* * *

"So, the point is to make peace, but be ready to win a fight if they don't want to?" Will asked. We were all in my cabin, around the main table—me, Annabeth, Will Solace, and Vincent. To my relief, neither of the two said anything about me and Annabeth seeming different.

"Yeah." Annabeth nodded, sipping an icy Dr. Pepper. "Me, Percy, and Piper will be in charge of negotiations. You guys will be there so they don't get any ideas."

"Full tactical gear, heavy weapons?" Vincent questioned, looking mildly bored. "That is, max intimidation? We can do that."

"Great." Annabeth finished up the little meeting. "You'll each be in charge of your own teams. Make sure to pick well."

"Clarisse is the head counselor of Ares." Will pointed out, taking a sidelong glance at Vincent.

"She'll be in charge of camp defense while we're gone." Annabeth replied evenly. "And, really, she's a little too easy to tick off for this mission."

"Hence why I'm going." Vincent smirked, heading towards the door. "I'll give my guys notice, we leave in four days." He gave a short laugh. "Four days… we could drive there and take over their camp in that amount of time."

"But we don't know who the seven demigods in the prophecy will be, exactly." I said cautiously. "So, we can't really kill anyone."

"Like that'll happen." Will muttered. "You do know that if the Romans decide to attack, there will be casualties, right? Either on our side or theirs."

"With any luck, they won't shoot." Annabeth said. She drummed her fingers on the table. "They're military trained, legion-focused, not like us. We train for fighting at the individual level. They'll be acutely aware of how any actions will affect the unit, and their commanding officers will be hesitant to start a war." I smiled—she was smart as ever. Well, she literally was a brainchild from Athena's divine thoughts, so I guess that was the normal level of brilliance for her.

"Good to know." Vincent nodded.

* * *

"You nervous? About going back there?" I asked her, interrupting my cabin's new TV and the movie that was playing.

"Yes." She admitted, shifting around so she could look me in the face. "It's a little odd… but I don't feel as brazen as I did on our other quests. I want to be more careful." She hesitated for a moment. "I am scared, Percy."

"More to lose." I realized. "All those 'life's short,' sayings don't apply so much now."

"Nope. We're not kids anymore, not so bold." She smiled faintly. "We've got quite a lot of time, you know. We'll be able to build, to change things…"

"Assuming we don't die horrible demi-god style deaths." I joked. "Poisoned, or eaten by dragons…"

"Don't say that stuff." Annabeth elbowed me, but since we were side-by-side, she couldn't get much force. I laughed. "You know what it says in the Bible? 'The power of life and death is in the tongue.' By saying something will happen, you make it more likely that it could."

"Kind of weird, for you to be quoting the Bible when our parents are gods." I remarked.

"The Olympians and God are completely different." Annabeth explained. "The existence of one does not disprove the existence of the other." She had a point.

"Let's skip camp tomorrow." I proposed, changing the subject. "Go walk through Central Park, see a movie, eat a fabulous restaurant… have a good day."

"I'm good on that offer." Annabeth grinned. She paused for a moment. "Oh, and I'm putting five thousand in precious metals. Silver and gold." I sighed.

"What?" Annabeth demanded, making me laugh.

"Just… your timing." I smiled. "I say we should spend all day tomorrow out together, and you suddenly bring up investments." She pushed me back with both hands and moved so that she was lying on top of me.

"Sorry." She grinned, her face now inches from mine. "Didn't mean to spoil the moment."

"Oh, it's fine." I assured her, now feeling very forgiving. "Good stuff, gold, silver."

"Yeah… with the dollar devaluing against foreign currencies, less gold being mined, silver's use in electronics, and China hoarding all the gold they can get, prices are going up." Annabeth said matter-of-factly, as if it was fascinating. I remembered when she was thirteen, and she had used to just be interested in architecture, but as years went by, making money became a subject of interest for her.

"Well, I'll make sure to follow your lead." I kissed her softly, relishing the moment. The warmth of her body, the taste of her lips…"Athena's always got a plan, right?" I felt her hand running through my hair, and I did the same to her, then broke the kiss and went down her neck, putting a trail of kisses down to her collarbone.

"Always, Seaweed Brain." She said, her voice a little huskier than usual. I paused for a moment, looking at her face, her stormy gray eyes…

"You're perfect, you know that?" I asked. "Like, completely. Not a single flaw, anywhere." I kissed the corner of her mouth as it pulled up into a smile.

"Back at you, Percy." She whispered...

That was the end of the discussion for the night.


	15. The EndJust Another Beginning

I know it's been forever, I've had a situation chasing a girl demanding my attention, which sadly did not end well, haha. But here, here's the last chapter to wrap up the story. Hope you like it!

"_Can you still see the heart of me? All my agony fades away, as you hold me in your embrace_!"—"All I Need"

"What did you two do?" Thalia demanded.

That was her hello. Not, _Hey, glad you're not dead!_ I tried not to laugh.

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked neutrally. "We're back together—" Thalia grabbed us both and shoved us inside the Athena cabin, which was thankfully empty.

"Fess up." She said flatly. "I can sense something different about you both. I've got radar for this kind of thing now."

"Healthy diet." I deadpanned. "Fruit, apples." Annabeth elbowed me, and Thalia literally gasped, which was pretty amusing.

"You two ate apples of immortality!" Thalia said accusingly.

"Hey, she tried to kill Annabeth before." I shrugged. "She owed Annabeth an apple."

"Chiron forbid us from telling anyone." Annabeth said apologetically. "Or I would've IM'ed you."

"No, if Chiron said that I'm glad you didn't." Thalia looked a little dazed. "Wow… we're all immortal now. All three of us. Never saw that coming."

"No one did." Annabeth sat down at a table. I joined her, and Thalia followed suit.

"It is good to see you, Percy." Thalia finally said, smiling faintly. "Everyone was looking for you, and I mean _everyone_. Hera even kept her plans from most of the gods."

"What about Poseidon?" I asked. I hadn't seen my Dad since months before that night.

"He was in the dark. And enraged about." Thalia told me seriously. "Check old weather reports. The months you were gone, there were a record amount of storms, and huge typhoon they thought was going to wipe out Mexico, but it headed back out to see just before hitting land. My dad managed to calm yours down, at least for a little bit."

"Well, things are okay now. Jason's back with the Romans, I'm back here." I smiled. "Good enough for me."

"It is really good to see you two back together." Thalia said again, smiling. "Just… man. Both of you better watch out for angry cows from the queen." She said _the_ _queen_ the way most people sounded when cursing.

"I think she got over it. Mostly." Annabeth joked.

"Being almost eaten by the ground will humble people." Thalia grinned back.

"This could turn out badly," I mused, looking at the massive dry dock a few hundred yards away. "Our luck could run out."

"That's life." Annabeth said quietly, agreeing. "Every day you get, it's a gift."

"I just, wish we had more time, before it started again." I said. She slipped her hand into mine.

"More time for what?" She asked.

"Us, I guess." I said. "Heroics. They make for great stories… great adventures. But what do they really matter, compared to other things?" She gave me a playful shove.

"Hey! What we did—it matters. It'll matter for hundreds of years." She said, smiling. "So will what we're going to do."

"Maybe we should get married before we go." I joked, grinning. Annabeth mulled this over for a second.

"Not enough time, to throw something like that together. And our parents would freak." She said. "But we could do something else."

"Let's hear it."

It was almost ridiculous. Neither of us really knew what we were doing, honestly.

But it felt right.

"Percy Jackson. " She said softly, "I love you more than anything else… you make my life something worth living. I don't know what the future holds, but I know that there will never be another for me. I pledge myself to you. I swear on the Styx—my love and loyalty is yours, and it always will be."

"Annabeth Chase…" I began. "Through everything… through the Underworld, and the Labyrinth, dealing with titans... everyone said it was it about civilization, or the gods. Not for me… it was all about us. You were the one thing that kept me alive, and the Styx itself showed me—without you, I've got nothing truly worth living for. I love you, and pledge myself to you. I swear on the Styx, that whatever happens, I'm yours, forever and always."

We embraced and kissed by unspoken agreement. I never thought of myself as some crazy romantic guy… but I could've stayed in that moment forever.

But we got fifteen seconds before I heard footsteps. We turned to see Vincent approaching hesitantly. He looked like a part some special forces team, just missing a flag symbol on his vest.

And to our amusement, he also seemed a bit sheepish.

"Valdez says we're ready to takeoff, and the teams all prepared." He made brief eye contact before looking away and fiddling with the assault rifle slung across his chest. "So, I'll, ah, tell him you'll be there in a few minutes. If you two are ready." He took a few quick steps back, like he had really wanted to leave.

"We're ready." I said firmly, looking at Annabeth.

"For anything." She agreed.


End file.
